She raised her eyes to his and kept them there.

He continued pleasantly⁠—“Since I have sat here I have seen a lot of pretty girls walking alone on the terrace there⁠—and then you are alone too. Tell me, for I do not know French customs⁠—do you have the liberty of going to the theatre without a chaperone?”

For a long time she studied his face, and then with a trembling smile said, “Why do you ask me?”

“Because you must know, of course,” he said gaily.

“Yes,” she replied indifferently, “I know.”

He waited for an answer, but getting none, decided that perhaps she had misunderstood him.