That same evening he took a less optimistic view. He was undressing slowly, sitting in his shirt with one shoe in his hand, luxuriously enjoying a cigarette, when Edith came into his dressing-room. "May I come in, darling?" she asked, shutting the door behind her without waiting for permission. Rodney looked with pleasure at the two long dark plaits falling over her pink dressing gown, and at the white swansdown lying softly at the base of her white throat. "Do," he answered heartily. "Do come and sit down and talk to me; I know I'm being slow." Edith bent to kiss him, but drew back with a look of disgust. "Oh, Rodney," she said gently, "smoking again! I thought we had arranged that all the upper part of the house was to be kept free from the dirt and smell of your cigarettes." "We never arranged anything of the sort. I don't bring the dirt and smell as you call it into your bedroom or the drawing-room, but damn it, I don't see why I shouldn't occasionally smoke a cigarette in my own dressing-room." "Just as you please, of course," said Edith turning away. "Don't go like that," urged Rodney, putting out the offending cigarette. "Surely it isn't worth quarrelling about. "It isn't only that, Rodney," said Edith gravely. "It's much more serious and fundamental than that. Your language really horrifies me, it's so terribly coarse." Rodney was aghast. "Coarse," he repeated, "how do you mean, coarse?" "Why, there you are, darling," said Edith more kindly. "You see you don't even know you've just sworn at me." "I never meant to swear at you, Edith. I'm sorry if I did. But look here, dear, let's just talk out once and for all, this matter of not smoking upstairs. It really is nonsense that I shouldn't smoke in my own dressing-room." Edith smiled tenderly on him and laid her hand over his mouth. "Don't say any more," she urged, "I don't want you to have anything to be sorry for to-night, and I know that what I have to tell you will make you look at things from my point of view. Listen, dear; I came to tell you some wonderful news: I don't know whether you've looked ahead or not, and thought about all the responsibility of having a child, but you'll have to now, darling; you're going to be a father." Her voice dropped to a reverent whisper as she added, "It's almost too marvellous to be true, isn't it, Rodney?" Rodney's feelings were mixed. His genuine pleasure at the thought of having a child was impaired by Edith's manner of imparting the news to him. He perceived already that the child would be used as a goad to further Edith's schemes for a less easy-going, more disciplined, habit of life. "I'm very glad," he said heavily. "Dear Edith." But even as he stood up on one stockinged foot, to kiss her, he thought gloomily that it was a little hard on him that an extraneous circumstance should step in and win Edith's battle for her.