Persis beamed upon the complete disarray of all his faculties, and spoke with affected raillery, though her own mind was in a seethe.
"At last we meet again! And how magnificent we are in our gorgeous uniform! It's only the second time I've seen you in it. And I believe we are no longer plain Mr. Forbes—but Captain! Captain Harvey Forbes, U. S. A.! And they say we are rich now. What a pity I didn't wait a little!"
Forbes was hurt at her flippancy. He smiled dismally, and she purred on: "I assure you your title and your wealth are vastly becoming; almost as becoming as all these buttons and epaulettes and things." She walked around him, looking him over like an inspecting officer. "Um-m! How very nice! Magnificent!"
"Oh, I beg of you—" Forbes protested, tortured with chagrin.
But she went on, "And a sword, too!" She ventured even to pull the blade a little way from its scabbard. He would have killed a man for doing that, and he almost wanted to kill Persis as she tantalized him with a strange mixture of ridicule and idolatry. "I've no doubt the boulevards are strewn with the broken hearts of Frenchwomen. Who could resist you? I'm sure my own heart isn't anywhere near healed. It was very cruel of you, Harvey, to throw me over and run away after you had stolen my poor young affections."
Forbes was distraught; he groaned, "I see you've not forgotten how to make fun of me."
But Persis went on in mock petulance: "It wasn't at all nice of you to cast me off just because I married Willie."
This gave Forbes a chance to return her ridicule and he asked, "By the way, how is your excellent husband?"
"You can see for yourself. There he is, still unable to learn the tango and trying to teach it to a fat Marquise."
Forbes attempted that most uncivil of tones to a woman, the ironical: "I hear that you and Mr. Enslee are the most devoted of couples."