"Perhaps she wouldn't marry me," he said.
"Any woman would marry you if you asked her nicely. You have got such an alluring voice."
Tony suddenly straightened himself.
"Well, I'm not going to marry Musette," he said. "It would be a damned shame." Then he walked across the room and rang the bell.
Reggie said nothing. With his head on one side he smoked away thoughtfully at his cigarette.
The silence was broken by the entrance of Ropes.
"Is the car round?" inquired Tony.
"It has been outside exactly twenty minutes, sir," replied Ropes equably. "I have put in the luncheon basket and three bottles of champagne. Everything is quite ready, sir."
"Good," said Tony, picking up two or three stray sovereigns from the dressing-table. "I will now put on my coat, Ropes."
The impassive man-servant stepped out into the hall, reappearing a moment later with a magnificent astrachan-lined garment, in which Tony proceeded to envelop himself.