“I mean just what I say. Have you got the grit to admit to all the world that you’ve made a mistake. There’s only one way out of this mess, Ruthie. Cut your losses and start afresh.”

“You mean⁠—”

“Divorce.”

“Divorce!”

Van Aldin smiled drily.

“You say that word, Ruth, as though you’d never heard it before. And yet your friends are doing it all round you every day.”

“Oh! I know that. But⁠—”

She stopped, biting her lip. Her father nodded comprehendingly.