“You are a rich man’s luxury, eh? Is that it?”

“If you like to put it that way.”

She leaned back on the cushions, her head flung back.

“All the same, I am fond of you, Dereek.”

He went over to the window and stood there some time looking out, with his back to her. Presently the dancer raised herself on her elbow and stared at him curiously.

“What are you thinking of, mon ami ?”

He grinned at her over his shoulder, a curious grin, that made her vaguely uneasy.

“As it happened, I was thinking of a woman, my dear.”

“A woman, eh?”

Mirelle pounced on something that she could understand.