She turned beside him. "Yes, I shall like that. But--why did you say I was always hard on Max?"
"The result of observations made," he answered lightly.
She smiled with a hint of wistfulness, and said no more. The child Olga would have argued the point. The woman Olga held her peace.
Undoubtedly Nick had stepped off his pedestal that day. She loved him none the less for it, but she wondered a little.
And Nick, philosopher and wily tactician, grinned at his fallen laurels and let them lie. He had that day accomplished the most delicate task to which he had ever set his hand. Behind the mask of masculine clumsiness he had subtly worked his levers and achieved his end. And he was well satisfied with the result.
Let her pity his limitations after a woman's immemorial fashion! How should she recognize the wisdom of the serpent which they veiled?
It was the strangest Christmas Day Olga had ever known, but she certainly had no time to be homesick.
She was roused by Nick scratching seductively at her window from the verandah, and, admitting him, she found him waiting to present a jeweller's box which contained a string of moonstones exquisitely set in silver. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen, and she was delighted with it.
Through the medium of her _ayah_ she had purchased a carved sandal-wood box from the bazaar for Nick, which she now presented, modestly hoping he didn't hate the smell.
"I adore it," declared Nick, sniffing it loudly. "It's just the East to me. I shall steep my ties in it. Many thanks, Olga _mia!_ Thine ancient uncle values the gift for the sake of the giver." He kissed her, and sat down on the edge of the bed, dangling his feet in a pair of violently coloured Oriental slippers. "I see His Excellency has sent us a thing like a clothes-basket full of fruit. Very kind of him, but a trifle overwhelming. There is no mail in yet, but some local parcels have arrived which the _khit_ is sorting with the face of a judge. Ah, here comes your little lot!" as the _ayah_ softly opened the door. "Shall I remove myself?"
"Of course not, Nick! Smoke a cigarette while I open them. They can't be anything very much."
The _ayah,_ smiling broadly, laid two parcels on the table by Olga's bedside. A third one, which was very small, she dropped with a mysterious gesture into her hand.