“She’s been twice to lunch,” he said.

But Gerda’s eyes remained troubled and very wide open, and the corners of her underlip drooped.

“Darnley was here, too⁠—both times!” she gasped. “We’ve never had her alone, and I’ve got no clothes for an afternoon.”

“No clothes?”

“You know what I mean, perfectly well,” she went on peevishly. “People like your mother don’t have the same things on in the morning as they do in the afternoon.”