"Suppose I gossip?" "I see no reason why you should be our enemy, so I don't mind admitting to you that it would spoil our plans." "What may they be?" "Firstly, to get clear of everything that has happened. We've tried to do that in different places all over Europe, without success. Something or somebody has always cropped up and driven us away. It was just as though every one least concerned in the matter had made up their minds to track us down. At last mother thought of India, and of Marut in particular. My father held a small post somewhere about here before we left for England, and we make out that it is tender associations and all that sort of thing. Of course, we might be found out any day, but perhaps people are not so curious out here, and it gives us a rest." "Might I ask why you take all this trouble?" "I was going to tell you. Because my mother wants what she calls position--she wants to mix with the best. We couldn't do that in England, for the reasons I have given you. As for me--I fulfil my destiny. I am seeking a suitable husband." He drew in his breath in something that was not unlike a gasp. "My dear Miss Cary, do you know what the world--particularly the woman world--would call you?" "_Does_ call me, you mean? Of course. An adventuress." "To be quite frank, you've hit it. But I don't. I call you a jolly extraordinary and clever woman." "Please don't pay me compliments," she said coldly. "My cleverness--if I have any--is not more than that of any hunted animal who seeks cover where best he can. As to my being extraordinary, I do not see that you have any reason to call me so. You might as well say that it is extraordinary when a weed springs up where a weed has been sown--" "Or a flower," he interposed suavely. She sank back in her seat, saying nothing. Her silence was a weary sort of protest. Travers pulled out his watch with his free hand. "We have only five minutes more," he said. "We are splendidly up to time. I tell you what, Miss Cary--you can eat Colonel Carmichael's dinner in peace." She looked quickly at him. "I mean that I shall hold my tongue. I don't know that I ever intended doing anything else. I am not responsible to society, and in any case, no direct blame for the past can attach itself to you. As it is, after your confidence, I give you my word that I'll do my best to see you through here. You deserve it, and I have always had a sneaking sympathy for the hunted fox and the much-abused weed. You can be quite easy in your mind." "Thank you," she said without much warmth. "I have only one condition--" he went on, and then hesitated. "I was waiting for that," she said. He laughed good-naturedly. "You know me very well already." "I know men," she retorted.