y, you can't make me!" Millicent laughed at the idea.
"Besides, you know you want me all the time, and you've just promised to
enjoy this jolly little meal and to lecture me afterwards. I'm not going
to be unhappy because you belong to Margaret Lampton."

"So long as you know I do," he said, "I feel I can eat your excellent
lunch."

"And if Margaret doesn't know, what can it matter?"

"Oh, Millicent!"

"You know, Mike, it's what's found out that matters. If you enjoy
yourself and make me happy for two or three days in the desert and
Margaret never knows, what harm could it do?"

"If you can't see the harm for yourself," he said, "I can't show it to
you."

"Well, I can't," she said. "But let's talk of something else. Margaret
is taboo--she's spoilt half our lunch."

"First tell me how you got here, how you knew of my movements. I spoke
of them to no one."

"No, no, that also is taboo--until after lunch."

"What can we talk about?"

Millicent looked at him. Her eyes suggested another topic--themselves.
"Is that taboo as well!" she said, as Michael's eyes dropped under hers.

"Absolutely," he said.

"Happy idea!" she cried. "The tomb! If we mayn't talk of Margaret or of
our two selves or of how I got here, or of whence I came or whither you
are going, surely a tomb is a safe topic?"

"Yes," Michael said, "if any topic is safe with you."

"Ah," Millicent said. "That's the nicest thing you've said."

"I didn't mean to be nice. What's nice in that?"

"But you were nice, awfully nice. If there are so many danger-zones to
be avoided between us, you don't feel very safe, very sure of yourself.
That's triumph number one for Millicent; Margaret's lost one point
already."

"I thought Margaret was taboo?"

"Oh, so she was--I beg her pardon!" She sighed. "'One word is too often
profaned for me to profane it,' etc." She put her elbows on the table.
"Oh, Mike, aren't you an odd darling? I do love teasing you. If you
weren't so easily ragged, I wouldn't."

"Do go on with your lunch," he said. "And don't chatter so much. We
only have a certain amount of time for lunch and digestion. This pie's
delicious."

"Where are we going? When do we go on?" Millicent was not oblivious of
the fact that he spoke of their going on as an accepted fact.

"So you don't know? You haven't found out everything?"

"No, I knew enough to bring me to you. That was all I wanted. You can
tell me the rest."

M