Page:Herbert Jenkins - The Rain Girl.djvu/193

 "I was not," he said in reply to her question.

"But you are not being serious, are you?" There was the simplicity of a child in the look that accompanied her words.

"Must I be serious?" he asked, pocketing his pipe and taking out his cigarette-case.

"Pleeeeeease."

Again there was silence, during which Beresford lighted a cigarette.

"I just wanted you to know," she said.

"That I had been nice to you?"

She nodded.

"Thank you."

"I don't like men," she began, and then hesitated.

"As a conversational opening to set me at my ease" he began with a smile.

"Now you are not being serious," she protested. "What I wanted to tell you was" again she paused, "that—that—you have been so different from the others."

"Shall we take all that for granted?" He smiled across at her a friendly, understanding smile.

"Oh yes, let's," she cried with a sigh of relief; "I have been wanting to tell you only I Of course, it seems silly, doesn't it?"

"Does it?"

"Now," she continued with a great air of decision, "there's the other thing."

"Is that serious also?" he asked quizzically.

She nodded vigorously.

"I'm afraid I'm going to be very rude," she cried