Zoie measured Jimmy with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. She resented the

patronising tone that he was adopting. How dare he be cheerful when

she was so unhappy--and because of him, too? She determined that his

self-complacency should be short-lived.

"Alfred has found out that I lied about the luncheon," she said,

weighing her words and their effect upon Jimmy.

"What luncheon?" stuttered Jimmy, feeling sure that Zoie had suddenly

marked him for her victim, but puzzled as to what form her persecution

was about to take.

"What luncheon?" repeated Zoie, trying apparently to conceal her disgust

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at his dulness. "OUR luncheon yesterday."

"Why did you LIE," asked Jimmy, his eyes growing rounder and rounder

with wonder.

"I didn't know he KNEW," answered Zoie innocently.

"Knew what?" questioned Jimmy, more and more befogged.

"That I'd eaten with a man," concluded Zoie impatiently. Then she turned

her back upon Jimmy and again dashed up and down the room occupied with

her own thoughts.

It was certainly difficult to get much understanding out of Zoie's

disjointed observations, but Jimmy was doing his best. He followed her

restless movements about the room with his eyes, and then ventured a

timid comment.

"He couldn't object to your eating with me."

"Oh, couldn't he?" cried Zoie, and she turned upon him with a look

of contempt. "If there's anything that he DOESN'T object to," she

continued, "I haven't found it out yet." And with that she threw herself

in a large arm chair near the table, and left Jimmy to draw his own

conclusions.

Jimmy looked about the room as though expecting aid from some unseen

source; then his eyes sought the floor. Eventually they crept to the tip

of Zoie's tiny slipper as it beat a nervous tattoo on the rug. To save

his immortal soul, Jimmy could never help being hypnotised by Zoie's

small feet. He wondered now if they had been the reason of Alfred's

first downfall. He recalled with a sigh of relief that Aggie's feet were

large and reassuring. He also recalled an appropriate quotation: "The

path of virtue is not for women with small feet," it ran. "Yes, Aggie's

feet are undoubtedly large," he concluded. But all this was not solving

Zoie's immediate problem; and an impatient cough from her made him

realise that something was expected of him.

"Why did you lunch with me," he asked, with a touch of irritation, "if

you thought he wouldn't like it?"




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