How could he say a thing like that?
The fool.
The blasted fool.
But recovering herself at once she laughed lightly.
‘What nonsense!
I don’t believe a word of it.’
‘He’s a very commonplace, rather vulgar man.
It’s not surprising if all the fuss you’ve made of him has turned his head.’
Julia, smiling good-naturedly, looked at her with ingenuous eyes.
‘But, darling, you don’t think he’s my lover, do you?’
‘If I don’t, I’m the only person who doesn’t.’
‘And do you?’
For a minute Dolly did not answer.
They looked at one another steadily, their hearts were black with hatred; but Julia still smiled.
‘If you give me your solemn word of honour that he isn’t, of course I’ll believe you.’
Julia dropped her voice to a low, grave note.
It had a true ring of sincerity: ‘I’ve never told you a lie yet, Dolly, and I’m too old to begin now.
I give you my solemn word of honour that Tom has never been anything more to me than just a friend.’
‘You take a great weight off my mind.’
Julia knew that Dolly did not believe her and Dolly was aware that Julia knew it.
She went on.
‘But in that case, for your own sake, Julia dear, do be sensible.
Don’t go about with this young man any more.
Drop him.’
‘Oh, I couldn’t do that.
That would be an admission that people were right in what they thought.
After all, my conscience is clear.
I can afford to hold my head high.
I should despise myself if I allowed my behaviour to be influenced by malicious gossip.’
Dolly slipped her feet back into her shoes and getting her lipstick out of her bag did her lips.
‘Well, dear, you’re old enough to know your own mind.’
They parted coldly.
But one or two of Dolly’s remarks had been somewhat of a shock to Julia.
They rankled.
It was disconcerting that gossip had so nearly reached the truth.
But did it matter?
Plenty of women had lovers and who bothered?
And an actress.
No one expected an actress to be a pattern of propriety.
‘It’s my damned virtue.
That’s at the bottom of the trouble.’
She had acquired the reputation of a perfectly virtuous woman, whom the tongue of scandal could not touch, and now it looked as though her reputation was a prison that she had built round herself.
But there was worse.
What had Tom meant by saying that she ate out of his hand?
That deeply affronted her.
Silly little fool.
How dare he?
She didn’t know what to do about it either.
She would have liked to tax him with it.
What was the good?