Willie changed the subject with his usual abruptness. All this time he had been revealing an unexpected enthusiasm for the little purple forest of lilacs in the centerpiece. He kept pulling the nearest sprays to him and breathing their incense in.
"Do you know I simply adore lilacs," he smiled. "Up at my country place they must be glorious. My gardener writes me they have never been so good as this year. I wish I could see them."
Nobody paid much heed to his emotions until, a little later, he broke out suddenly:
"By Jove, I believe I'll take a run up in the country and see my lilacs and spend a night in real air."
"That's a fine idea," said Winifred; "we'll all go along."
"Oh no, you won't," said Willie. "The place isn't open yet. Nobody there but the gardener and his helpers."
This checked Winifred only for a moment, then she returned to the charge.
"All the more fun," she exclaimed. "Let's all go up and make a week-end of it."
"But there are no servants there, I tell you," Willie insisted.
"That's where the fun comes in," said Winifred, in love with her inspiration. "It would be a glorious lark. There's nothing to do here in town."