might as well know.

"Oh, well ... what? Yes, what about those ghastly statuettes, and all the
rest of them? Why, when, how ... and what on earth for?"

Hilary, after a moment of silence, said, with a rather elaborate
carelessness, "I saw you didn't like them."

At that Peter started a little, and the dreaminess of the night fell away
from him.

"You saw ... oh." For a moment he couldn't think of anything else to say.
Then he laughed a little. "Why, yes, I imagine you did.... But what's the
object of it all? Have you and Cheriton (by the way, why does he glare at
us both so?) come to the conclusion that it's worth while playing that
sort of game? If you have, I can't tell you how utterly wrong I think you
are. Make him happy--oh, I know--but what extraordinary cheek on your
part! I as near as possible gave you away--I did really. Besides, what
did he mean by saying you'd advised him to buy the things--praised them
in the Gem, and all that? You can't have gone so far as that--did you?"

After a moment of silence, Hilary turned abruptly and looked Peter in the
face, taking the long cigar out of his mouth and holding it between two
white, nervous fingers.

"Upon my word," said Hilary, speaking rather slowly, "Talk of cheek!
Do you know what you're accusing me of? You and your precious taste!
Leslie and your other fool patrons seem to have given you a fair
opinion of yourself. Because you, in your omniscience, think a thing bad,
which I ... which I obviously consider good, and have stated so in