" But that, like claiming a promise half
made, "wouldn't have been fair." If he hinted that the car had been got
for her sake, she would be distressed. Some men in his place would have
said--whether meaning it or not--"No other woman shall ever go with me in
that auto." And the wish to say this was in Nick's mind, but he knew that
it would be in bad taste. Besides, there was a woman who would want to try
his car, and it would be unfriendly to deny her. So he said, "There _is_
one friend I must take: Mrs. Gaylor. I've talked to you about her. She'll
be interested in Bright Angel when I get home."
"Yes; of course," replied Angela. It was extraordinary how much she
disliked the picture of Nick and a beautiful dark woman together in the
car where _her_ place had been by his side. Could it be that Theo Dene was
right? Was Nick's interest in her--Angela--less than, and different from,
his interest in Mrs. Gaylor? She had no right to know, no right to want to
know, still less to try to find out. Yet she felt that not to know very
soon would make her lose sleep, and appetite, and interest in daily life.
Silence fell between them for a moment. The rose of sunset burned to
ashes-of-rose. A small clock on the mantelpiece mentioned in a discreet
voice that it was a quarter to eight.
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