Molly burst into a ripple of laughter. "I don't think that's much of a compliment to my frock, Tony," she said. "It was specially designed for me by Jay's too! Don't you like it?"
Tony stepped back and inspected her critically.
"It's wonderful," he said. "I should imagine Mr. Jay was now prostrate with nervous exhaustion."
"Oh, well," replied Molly comfortingly, "he'll have heaps of time to recover before he's paid."
The clear note of a silver gong sounded from the passage and she thrust her arm through Tony's.
"Come along," she said, "there are roast quails and it would be awful if they got cold, wouldn't it?"
Tony gave a slight shudder. "There are some tragedies," he said, "that one hardly likes to think about."
All through lunch, which was daintily served in Molly's pretty, sunny little dining-room, they chatted away in the easy cheerful fashion of two people who have no illusions about each other and are yet the firmest of friends. The lunch itself was excellent, and Claudine waited on them with a graceful skill that lent an additional harmony to its progress.
"I think I am in love with your new maid," observed Tony thoughtfully, when she at length left them to their coffee and cigarettes.
"I am glad you approve of her," said Molly, "but if you haven't seen her before it only shows how disgustingly you must have treated me. She has been here since Christmas."