“Three minutes for good-byes,” said Volney, suggestively.
“Oh, my friends need not order the hearse yet—at least for me. Of course, if it would be any convenience——”
He laughed. “Faith, you improve on acquaintance, Mr. Montagu, like good wine or—to stick to the same colour—the taste of the lady’s lips.”
I looked blackly at him. “Do you pretend——?”
“Oh, I pretend nothing. Kiss and never tell, egad! Too bad they’re not for you too, Montagu.”
“I see that Sir Robert Volney has added another accomplishment to his vices.”
“And that is——?”
“He can couple a woman’s name with the hint of a slanderous lie.”
Sir Robert turned to Creagh and waved a hand at me, shaking his head sorrowfully. “The country boor in evidence again. Curious how it will crop out. Ah, Mr. Montagu! The moon shines bright again. Shall we have the pleasure of renewing our little debate?”
I nodded curtly. He stopped a moment to say: