He felt angry with her for what seemed to him to be flippancy. "I'm in earnest, Cecily!" he said. "I'm not joking!" "I'm in earnest, too. I don't want to run away with you ... not because I don't love you ... I do love you, Paddy, very much ... but it's so absurd to run away and make a ... a mountain out of a molehill. We should be awfully miserable if we were to elope. We'd have to go to some horrid place where we shouldn't know anybody and there'd be nothing to do. Really, it's much pleasanter to go on as we are now, Paddy. You can come here and take me to lunch sometimes and go to the theatre with me when Jimphy wants to go to a music-hall, and ... and so on!" He could not rid himself of the notion that she was "chattering" in the Lensley style. "It would be decenter to go away together," he said. She moved away from him angrily. "You're a prig, Paddy!" she exclaimed. "You can go to Ireland. I don't care!" He got up as if to go, but did not move away. He stood beside her irresolutely, wishing to go and wishing to stay, and then he bent over her and touched her. "Cecily," he said, "come with me!" "No!" she answered, keeping her back to him. "Very well," he said, and he walked across the room towards the door. His hand was on the handle when she called to him. "Aren't you going to stay to lunch?" she said. "You told me to go!..." "Yes, but I didn't mean immediately. I shall be all alone." He went back to her very quickly, and sat down beside her and folded her in his arms. "I loathe you," he cried, with his lips pressed against her cheek. "I loathe you because you're so selfish and brutal. You don't really care for me...." "Oh, I do, Paddy I ..." "No, you don't. You were making love to Ninian last night!..." "So that's it, is it?..." "No, it isn't. Ninian doesn't care about you or about any woman. He's not like me, a soft, sloppy fool. You don't love me. If I were to leave you now, you'd find some one to take my place quite easily. Lensley or Boltt!..." "They're too middle-aged, Paddy!" He pushed her away from him. "Damn it, can't you be serious!" he shouted at her. "You're very rude," she replied. "I'd like to beat you! I'd like to hurt you!..." She smiled at him and then she put her arms about his neck and drew him towards her. "You don't loathe me, Paddy," she said softly, soothing him with her voice, "you love me, don't you?" "Will you come away with me? Now?" "No!" She kissed him and got up. "Let's go to lunch," she said. He felt that he ought to leave her then, but he followed her meekly enough. "I don't think I'll stay to lunch," he said weakly. "Yes, you will!" she replied. "You can take me to a picture gallery afterwards!..." 4 They did not go to a picture gallery. The spring air was so fresh that she declared she must go for a drive. "Let's go to Hampstead!" he said, signalling to a taxi-driver. "Well have tea at Jack Straw's Castle!" "Yes, let's!" she exclaimed.