“Sister better?”
“Much.”
“When is she coming back?”
“Jane? As soon as Mrs. Heming can be brought home. In a few weeks, I hope.”
Adelaide drank a cup of tea almost at a draught. She was aware of an impending disclosure. When the blow came, she took it without the flicker of an eyelash.
“I am going to marry Jane Barnes, Adelaide. The engagement isn’t to be announced until she returns to Washington. But I want my friends to know.”
She put her elbows on the table, clasped her hands and rested her chin on them looking at him with steady eyes. “So that’s the end of it, Ricky?”
“The end of what?”
“Our friendship.”
“Why should it be?”