They have all been perfectly pleasant, perfectly disposed for conversation or any of the usual social amenities.

But they know that I have in the background a wife.

To flirt with a married man of fifty isn't worth while." "It appears to me," she said, with a slight note of severity in her tone, "that you have set your mind upon having a perfectly frivolous time." "Not at all," he objected.

"I have simply been experimenting." The service of dinner had now commenced, and with George in the background, a haughty head waiter a few yards off, and a myrmidon handing them their dishes with a beatific smile, the conversation drifted naturally into generalities.

When they resumed their more intimate talk, Tallente felt himself inspired by an ever-increasing admiration for his companion and her adaptability.