"I'll be bound you rushed away from home without any breakfast. Have some of mine."
Apparently the wisdom of resuming diplomatic relations must have occurred to her too, for she looked over her shoulder with a slow smile. Her eyes were still dangerous.
"Come and sit down," said Jack. "I'll make fresh coffee on the machine."
She swayed towards the table with inimitable nonchalance. Sitting, she gave Jack an inscrutable glance of the strange eyes, and languidly pulled off her gloves.
"By George! You're good to look at!" he said impulsively. It was surprised out of him.
"So are you," she murmured, with a languorous look through her lashes.
It was exactly the wrong thing for her to say; but Miriam persistently misread Jack. So long as she defied him and abused him he was profoundly stirred; he longed to seize and tame her. But when she displayed a disposition to woo him, he suddenly chilled and drew back. He did not let her see it of course. To create a diversion he jumped up to attend to the coffee machine.
"Silly for us to quarrel," she said, when he returned to the table.
"Our real interests lie together. If we go on fighting each other, we'll spoil both our games."
It just suited Jack to play up to this idea of their respective positions. "You're right," he said.
"I offered before to join with you," she said.
"But you have me at a disadvantage," objected Jack. "If you marry Bobo you'll have a legal hold over him. Where will I and my job be then? You as good as told me you'd kick me out."
"That was when I was angry," she said blandly. "What a woman says when she's angry doesn't count."
"But you might get angry again," suggested Jack dryly.
She favored him with a slow intoxicating glance of the hazel eyes. "You fool!" she whispered.
Jack was sorry now that he had asked her to stay. He saw the situation approaching from which no man can extricate himself with dignity and self-respect entire. But he was not sure that he wished to extricate himself. In his confusion he chose the worst possible course: that is, to laugh it off.
"That's good! Five minutes ago you hated me like a rattlesnake!"
"What's the difference?" she murmured. "I hate you because--because you treat me so. When I--Oh, why do you make me say it!"