She gathered her wraps about her and made a movement as if to leave the
room. "Drugs! Why, how ridiculous!" she exclaimed with a laugh, though
he felt the cold edge of hatred in her voice.

Still laughing, she went out and up the staircase, and a few minutes
afterwards he heard her nervous step in the room above. He took out the
bills again and spent half the night in the effort to realise the exact
amount of his indebtedness.




CHAPTER XI

IN WHICH A LIE IS THE BETTER PART OF TRUTH


At breakfast Connie did not appear--she had seemed to be asleep when he
went into his dressing-room--and it was not until one o'clock that he
had a chance to speak to her again. Luncheon was already on the table
when he entered the dining-room, and Connie, in a green velvet gown and
a little green velvet hat ornamented by a twinkling aigrette, was
standing by the window looking out restlessly at the falling snow. As he
came in she went over to the table and began making tea with nervous
hands. She was apparently in the highest spirits, and while she fumbled
noisily with the cups and saucers she rambled on in her expressionless
voice with tinkling interludes of her shrill, falsetto laughter. As he
watched her in shamed silence he remembered with astonishment that it
had taken him almost ten years to find out that Connie was vulgar. Now
at last his eyes were opened--he had achieved a standard of comparison