They sat on chatting together with apparent gayness, but Hal's heart
was no lighter after she had duly been presented to the paternal
husband, as she called him, and she journeyed solemnly home on a bus,
feeling rather as if she had been to a funeral. She tried at first to
hide her feelings from Dudley - no difficult matter at all, since he
usually contributed little but a slightly absent "yes" and "no" to the
conversation, and if the conversation languished he took small notice.

However, he had to be told, and Hal rarely troubled to do much beating
about the bush, so, in order to rouse him speedily and thoroughly, just
as he was settling down to his newspaper she hurled the news at his
head without any preliminary preparation.

"What do you think Lorraine has done now? Been and gone and married a
man old enough to be her father!"

"Married!... Lorraine Vivian married!"

Dudley's newspaper went down suddenly on to his knee.

Hal had squatted on the hearthrug, tailor fashion, before the fire, and
she gave a little swaying movement backward and forward, to signify the
affirmative. He looked at her a moment as if to make sure she was not
joking, and then said, with sarcastic lips:

"A man old enough to be her father? ... then it isn't even Rod Burrell!"

"No; it isn't even Rod Burrell."