ence," Robin continued. "I dedicated a
book to you."

"O-oh!" said Dolly, genuinely interested. "Was that me? Dilly and I
thought it must be a girl in Scotland."

Then she realised that this was a step down from her pedestal of
aloofness, and was silent again. Robin went on--

"Yes, it was you. It was a sentimental thing to do, but it afforded me
immense pleasure. Love lives more on the homage it pays than that which
it receives. Have you noticed that?"

"I have never thought about it," said Dolly distantly.

"I thought not," replied Robin; "because it shows, what I have always
been tolerably certain of, that you have never been in love. However, to
resume." [_"Like a lecture on Greek Roots, or something equally fusty,"_
observes Dolly at this point.] "The time came, as it was bound to come,
when I realised that I must tell you I loved you"----

"I rather like the way he always said _'love'_ straight out," comments
Dolly: "most men are so frightened of it. They say 'am fond of' or
'care for' or something feeble like that. All except the curate with
pink eyes. (You remember him? Dora Claverton took him afterwards on
the rebound.) He said 'esteem highly' I think."

----"or leave this house altogether. But before doing that I had to
decide two things: firstly, whether I was good enough for you, and
secondly, if not now, whether I ever should be."

Dolly's half-closed eyes opened a trifle wider. This was certainly a
methodically-minded young man.

"It was difficult to decide the first question in practice," continued
Robin. "In theory, of course, any man who is a _man_--honest, clean, and
kind--is a fitting mate for any woman. Don't you think so?"

"No," said Dolly.

"I see," said Robin gently. "The theoretical is mainly the man's point
of view: woman looks straight to practical results. She is rather
inclined to take the virtues I have mentioned for granted, or do without
them; and she founds her opinion of a man almost solely upon his
capacity for boring her or stimulating her. In other words, she is
guided by her instinct. Isn't she?"

"Is she?" said Dolly, determined this time to maintain her attitude of
indifference.

"I think so," said Robin. "However, knowing how impossible it is for one
sex to look at a matter from the point of view of another, I decided to
stick to my own methods. So I made a summary of my points, good and bad.
They are these: I am strong and healthy; I possess an appetite