"I don't see the joke," said Letitia. "If you are amused because you look upon Olga as too plain to be flirted with--well, all I can say is that every eye formeth its own beauty. Mr. Tamworth is seemingly very sedate, but still waters run deep. Really, Archie,"--as I continued to shake,--"I think you are very rude. Nothing annoys me more than to be laughed at." The psychological moment had apparently arrived. There was no need to wait for the breakfast hour. After having laughed myself strong, I felt primed for the unpleasant task. Poor little ingenuous Letitia! I dubbed myself a mean, sneaking sort of a Satan! "Letitia," I began, "I have something to say to you." This sounded suspiciously like Mr. William Collier, at Weber and Fields', and I realized it as soon as I had spoken. It was a bad beginning. Letitia anticipated a jest, for she followed up my remark with "Don't tell me that you are--going--away--from--here?" "My dear," I said lugubriously, "Arthur Tamworth says that Olga must be married." Letitia looked surprised and a bit scornful. "And yet they say that women are gossips, and that men are superior!" she observed sententiously. "If that isn't a confession of utter weakness! Two men, after dinner, with cigars and _liqueurs_, can find nothing better to talk about than the love affairs of the cook! It is my turn to laugh now. Excuse me." I gladly allowed her to laugh, as I thought it would do her good. It had been so beneficial to me that I should have felt selfish if I had checked her mirth. However, Letitia was not as convulsively entertained as I had been. "Now, dear," I said, when she had finished, "I want you to listen to me. I--I--really do hate to tell you. I--I--can scarcely bring myself to it. But--but--Tamworth insists--" I withdrew to the back of her chair, where I could not see her face. In low tones, I imparted the gist of Arthur Tamworth's suspicions. It was most distressing; it was painful. "The wretch!" cried Letitia, springing to her feet. "To think that we have harbored such a man in our house! Really, Archie, your friends are beneath contempt. Although I am your wife, I don't feel myself called upon to associate with such creatures. How dare you tell me the subject of your indelicate smoking-room orgies? I have always heard that men were disgraceful after dinner. Aunt Julia told me so. She said that coffee after dinner was a signal for all respectable women to withdraw. I did not believe her. Now I do. And to think that my own husband--you--Archie!" Letitia turned upon me with cheeks aflame. Her indignation was cyclonic. Suddenly, as she gazed upon my helplessness--for she was a girl of moods--her fury seemed to disperse itself. Gradually a reflective look appeared in her eyes. She grew singularly calm. Presently, as I said nothing, she simply stood still, and looked at me, musingly. "You can easily ask her," I said weakly and huskily, "if--if--she is married."