"Tell him? What do you mean? What does it matter what you tell him?"
"I mean about our marriage. The old boy was so pleased when he knew that I—that you—— It will about finish him if he knows how—if he knows that we—" He floundered helplessly.
"You mean if he knows that you married me out of pique, and that I found it out?" she added bitterly.
He attempted no defence; he stood there miserable and silent.
"You can tell him what you like," said Christine, after a moment. "I don't care in the very least."
"I know you don't. I quite realise that; but—but if, just for the sake of appearances, you felt you could be sufficiently forgiving to—to come back to me, just—just for a little while, I mean," he added with an embarrassed rush. "I—I wouldn't bother you. I—I'd let you do just as you liked. I wouldn't ask anything. I—I——"
Christine laughed.
"You are inviting me to have a second honeymoon, in fact. Is that it?" she asked bitterly. "Thank you very much. I enjoyed the first so tremendously that, of course, it is only natural you should think I must be anxious to repeat the experiment."
Jimmy flushed to the roots of his hair.
"I deserve everything you can say. I haven't any excuse to offer; and
I know you'll never believe it if I were to tell you that—that when
Cynthia——"