She had been here a couple of days, during which she had never let go of herself at all. She had been quite cool and comrade-like. Violet might have listened to all that they had to say to each other. But to-day there had been signs that her self-control was becoming difficult to her. She had sulked--no less--at luncheon, and that was a sure sign: it always meant that a woman wanted to be asked, ever so delicately and affectionately, what was the matter. He knew quite well what was the matter, and so had not asked, but remained good-natured and maddeningly unconscious of her mood till she gave that up, and apologized for being so silent. Then to make amends (as if he cared!) she had been effusive with protestations of how much she was enjoying herself, of how good it was of him to ask her here.... And now again this wondering if they were great friends indicated a certain perturbation.... “Tell me, are we great friends?” she asked. He knew she would ask that again: women are such damned fools, and he leaned lazily towards her. “And tell me!” he said. “Don’t you know it?” His face must have reassured her, for she let her eyes dwell on it, and broke into a smile. “I suppose I do,” she said. “You wouldn’t have asked me to stay with you otherwise. What a bore we women must be! We always want to be reassured about the things a man takes for granted!” Colin turned over on to his side. “I never take anything for granted,” he said. “It’s really much wiser not to expect anything, and not to count on anything till it’s given you.” He knew she would attach a certain meaning to that. She did. “Colin, what nonsense!” she said. “Why, you’re the one person in the world who always gets what he wants.” He sat up, plucked two long stems of grass, and threaded them together, with that rapt intentness which must mean to her that he was thinking of something else than this task of his fingers. “Not a bit,” he said. “I have so often expected to get what doesn’t come to me, and then what comes instead is a disappointment. Moral: never ask, never expect! Take what is given you and be thankful, and if nothing is given you, do without it. But, my dear, I didn’t bring you up here to bore you with mild philosophical homilies.” He threw away his threaded grass stems, and appeared to throw away with them his unspoken preoccupation.