“Why?” “There’s no telling what might happen next time you come sharing your troubles. For my part that is, to say nothing of yours.” The remark was intended to convey more than it said but somehow he missed the hint, saying, “You’re not telling me a person as level headed as you would be bothered by gossip?” She hesitated a moment, as though considering his artlessness, but then, regarding him stolidly, replied, “For a man of business, Adam Swann, you can be damned thickheaded. If I was persuaded things were past mending between you and your wife it would come easily to me to send you home with something better than talk to remem ber me by. It’s not from want of inclination, I’ll tell you that. But you’re a family man at heart, and a man who needs to keep his home life as tidy as his accounts, so it wouldn’t be in your interests or mine in the long run. However, I’ll not tempt Providence by spending a night under the stars with you, so ride on ahead into Ripon and be done with it.”
