"They made it up beautifully between them, didn't they?" the actress observed, as she squeezed orange-juice into her spoon.
"What?"
"That story."
"Who?"
"Why, that story—that friendship, storm-at-sea, Equatoria story—done jointly by Messrs. Cairns and Bedient."
"You think they rehearsed it, then?" Kate Wilkes asked softly.
"Why, of course. It unfolded like a story—each piling on clever enthusiasm for the other."
There was a slight pause.
"And so you think David Cairns simulated that fine touch, about discovering through his friend, what damage New York was doing him?" Kate Wilkes' manner was lightly reflective.
"Of course. Don't you remember how he stumbled until you helped him going?"