"Why, it would be charming, if you have nothing to do, Mr. Walmsley," she assented. "I'll put my hat on at once." "I have nothing to do at any time now but to respect your wishes," I answered firmly, "and wait until you are sensible enough to say Yes to my little proposition." She looked back at me from the door with a twinkle in her eyes. "You know," she said, "before I came over I was told that Englishmen were rather slow. I shall begin to doubt it. You wouldn't describe yourself exactly as shy, would you, Mr. Walmsley?" "I don't know about that," I replied; "but we have other traits as well. We know what we want; very often we get it." Mr. Parker rose to his feet. He put his hand on my shoulder. He was the very prototype of the self-respecting, conscientious, prospective father- in-law. "Young fellow," he confessed, "I shall end by liking you!" I drove with Eve for about two hours. We went out nearly as far as Kingston and wound up in the heart of the West End. I tried to persuade her to walk down Bond Street, but she shook her head. "To tell you the truth," she confided, "I am not very fond of being seen upon the streets. You know how marvelously clever dad is; still we have been talked about once or twice, and there are several people whom I shouldn't care about meeting." I sighed as I looked out of the window toward the jewelers' shops. "I should very much like," I said, "to buy you an engagement ring." She laughed at me. "You absurd person! Why, I am not engaged to you yet!" "You are very near it," I assured her. "Anyhow, it would be an awfully good opportunity for you to show me the sort of ring you like." She shook her head. "Not to-day," she decided. "Somehow or other I feel that if ever I do let you, you'll choose just the sort of ring I shall love, without my interfering. Where did we say we'd pick father up?" "Here," I answered, as the car came to a standstill outside the Cafe Royal. "I'll go in and fetch him." I found Mr. Parker seated at a table with two of the most villainous specimens of humanity I had ever beheld. They were of the same class as the men with whom he had been talking at the Milan, but still more disreputable. He welcomed me, however, without embarrassment. "Just passing the time, my dear fellow!" he remarked airily. "Met a couple of acquaintances of mine. Will you join us?" "Miss Parker is outside in the car," I explained. "If you don't mind I will go out and wait with her. You can join us when you are ready." "Five minutes--not a moment longer, I promise!" he called out after me. "Sorry you won't join us." I took my place once more by Eve's side. Perhaps my tone was a little annoyed. "Your father is in there," I said, "with two of the most disreputable- looking ruffians I have ever seen crawling upon the face of the earth. What in the world induces him to sit at the same table with them I cannot imagine."