“You sleep there?”

“The question and answer could be misconstrued,” Lorna said, “but I’ll risk it. Yes, sometimes.”

“Why would it be fair?”

“Fairer, I said. Because I dislike rousing false hopes in fond parents.”

Mannering laughed, and smoke streamed from his lips.

“Frankness can be almost a vice,” he said. “But I rarely wonder what others will think. If I’m amused, I’m satisfied.”

“You think I’ve possibilities, then?”

“I’d like to prove it.”

Lorna laughed, but the mockery was back in her eyes.

“Do you ever think of anything but amusement ?”

“Why, yes. I think so. I study Ruff’s Guide.”

“That’s an evasion.”

“Naturally,” acknowledged Mannering, chuckling. “Is there time these days to cope with anything but amusement ? It’s a life’s work to watch for every variety.”

“I believe, too, you even work overtime.”

“I wasn’t thinking of musical comediennes.” Mannering smiled. “They’re the novice grades. There are endless other things — and I’ve found them all wanting.”

“It may have been you who were wanting.”

“More than likely, but my education’s not finished. Well, it’s something past ten. How does the Dernier suggest itself?”

“No other dates?”

“Two. One I’ve already missed; the other I’m willing to forget.”

“H’m.” Her eyes held his, with a glimmer of mingled amusement, mockery, and challenge. “Should I trust myself to such a memory ?”

Mannering laughed as he crushed his cigarette into a tray.

“The safest way never to lose a thing is never to have it,” he said.

“I’m ready to try anything once,” said Lorna. “While I powder my nose, spread the good news among the parents, and try not to see the light in their eyes.”