The car stopped. But–– Marie Louise simply dared not face Polly and risk a scene in the presence of Davidge. She tapped on the glass and motioned the driver to go on. He could not believe her gestures. She leaned out and whispered:
“Go on––go on! I’ll not stop!”
Davidge was puzzled, but he said nothing; and Marie Louise made no explanation till they were outside again, and then she said:
“Do you think I’m insane?”
“This is not my party,” he said.
She tried to explain: “There wasn’t a light to be seen. They couldn’t have got my telegram. They weren’t expecting me. They may not have been at home. I hadn’t the courage to stop and wake the house.”
That was not her real reason, but Davidge asked for no other. If he noted that she was strangely excited over a trifle like getting a few servants and a hostess out of bed, he made no comment.
When she pleaded, “Do you mind if I go back to Washington with you?” he chuckled: “It’s certainly better than going alone. But what will you do when you get there?”
“I’ll go to the railroad station and sit up,” Marie Louise announced. “I’m no end sorry to have been such a nuisance.”
“Nuisance!” he protested, and left his intonation to convey all the compliments he dared not utter.