"You sound as if you don't think that it will," she said quickly.
"I do think so, of course I do! You deserve all the happiness you can get, and whoever the man is, if he doesn't make you happy----"
He stopped, with frowning memory of Ashton and their parting only last night.
He hoped in his heart that they would never meet again; if they did, he realised that there would be quite a few nasty things he would feel called upon to say to him.
The waitress brought the bill at that moment and put an end to further conversation, for which he was thankful. He realised that he was getting rather out of his depth. He breathed more freely when they were safely out in the street.
"And where is the new boarding-house?" he asked presently. He wanted to change the subject; every moment he was afraid that he would say something to give himself away. He supposed he had behaved like an impetuous fool. He ought never to have posted that letter--ought never to have opened Ashton's; and yet--if he had not done so.... He looked down at the girl beside him, and wondered grimly how she would have felt if he had allowed that callous farewell to reach her.
"It's quite close to where we are now," she told him. "It's rather more expensive than the last one, but it's well worth the extra money, and"--she glanced up at him smilingly--"I'm better off to-day than I was yesterday," she explained. "And when I go back to work again----"
"Are you going back, then?" he asked quickly.
"Of course I am. I must do something, and they will take me back at Eldred's, I know----"
"Eldred's!" Micky frowned. "That's the petticoat shop, isn't it?"
"I've seen the place lots of times. A girl I know buys all her----" He stopped. "Do you want to go back there?" he asked.
"Not particularly, but it's easier than looking for a fresh place, and I know they will take me. I'm in the workroom, and it's not really such a hard life."
Micky did some rapid thinking; it was surprising how easily his brain had taken to hard work during the last twenty-four hours.
"Why don't you get a job as a companion to a nice old lady or somebody?" he suggested vaguely.
"It doesn't sound a bit attractive," she said frankly. "I think you need an awful lot of patience. It's very kind of you to be interested, but I think I shall go back to Eldred's, for a time, at least."