over just what your lips have already expressed so distinctly!"
She clearly did her best to follow him. "To those people—when I showed the place off?"
Mr. Prodmore laughed. "You seemed to be taking bids then!"
She was candid, but earnest. "Taking them?"
"Oh, like an auctioneer! You ran it up high!" And Mr. Prodmore laughed again.
She turned a little pale, but it added to her brightness. "I certainly did, if saying it was charming———"
"Charming?" Mr. Prodmore broke in. "You said it was magnificent. You said it was unique. That was your very word. You said it was the perfect specimen of its class in England." He was more than accusatory, he was really crushing. "Oh, you got in deep!"
It was indeed an indictment, and her smile was perhaps now rather set. "Possibly. But taunting me with my absurd high spirits and the dreadful liberties I took doesn't in the least tell me how deep you're in!"
"For you, Mrs. Gracedew?" He took a few steps, looking at his shoes again and as if to give her time to plead—since he wished to be quite
