watched she was struck more than ever with the fundamental difference in their quality of mind and spirit. It was not till the meal was nearly over that she saw they were drinking too much. They seemed to drink unconsciously, glass after glass. Dane in particular, talking with increasing brilliance, almost forgot to eat.
She became uncomfortably aware of the time, felt she must get back to the office, but knew her father would be angry at a dinner party disrupted. However, at a quarter to nine, she fidgeted and stood up.
“Awfully sorry, dad, but I must get back to work,” she said.
“What?” he exclaimed irritably. “You too?” He looked at Dane who had got at once to his feet.
“Yes, I must, Carr. I promised Johnson I’d be there to plan an inset.”
“When will you get back?”
Dane hesitated. Pleasantly relaxed though he was, he would have been glad to end the evening there. And he was sorry that Valerie should hear of anything further. But this was the kind of thing he did not know how to get out of.
“Oh, about eleven,” he said.
Knowing her father, Valerie guessed how the night would end, but she crushed back a stab of pain, telling herself she must not anticipate trouble. Dane lit his pipe when they got out of the hotel, and they went in silence by the river past the station wharf. It was the first time they had gone through the town together for they had been very careful. As it was dark and they could hear no one Dane drew her hand under his arm after they had passed the wharf. She had drunk sufficient champagne herself to make her feel that it was absurd to be serious about anything.
