He was curiously agitated by the encounter.

The ironic phrases he had already coined for Marian's discomfiture clinked into the melting-pot.

Sylvia was turning away and he must say something, though he could not express a gratitude he did not feel.

His practical sense grasped one idea feebly.

He felt its imbecility the moment he had spoken.
"You'll allow me, of course, to pay your expenses.