I had no right to enquire what your profession was, and still less have I a right to criticise it.

But of course you will understand that the subject we were speaking of must never be mentioned again." The lover sighed.

It was not a bad situation, and his long experience enabled him to make it quite effective.

Silently he took his gloves out of his hat, paused, and then dropped them in again, with the very faintest and most dramatic gesture of despair.

The action was trifling in the extreme, but it was performed by a play-actor who knew his business, and Aunt Charlotte felt as though cold water were running down her back.