She looked at me gravely with a small, shy smile.
"I do look - rather nice, don't I?" said Megan.
"Nice?" I said.
"Nice isn't the word!
Come on out to dinner and if every second man doesn't turn round to look at you I'll be surprised.
You'll knock all the other girls into a cocked hat."
Megan was not beautiful, but she was unusual and striking-looking.
She had personality.
She walked into the restaurant ahead of me and as the head waiter hurried toward us, I felt the thrill of idiotic pride that a man feels when he has got something out of the ordinary with him.
We had cocktails first and lingered over them.
Then we dined. And later we danced.
Megan was keen to dance and I didn't want to disappoint her, but for some reason or other I hadn't thought she would dance well.
But she did. She was light as a feather in my arms, and her body and feet followed the rhythm perfectly.
"Gosh!" I said.
"You can dance!"
She seemed a little surprised.
"Well, of course I can.
We had dancing class every week at school."
"It takes more than dancing class to make a dancer," I said.
We went back to our table.
"Isn't this food lovely?" said Megan.
"And everything!"
She heaved a delighted sigh.
"Exactly my sentiments," I said.
It was a delirious evening. I was still mad. Megan brought me down to earth when she said doubtfully,
"Oughtn't we to be going home?"
My jaw dropped.
Yes, definitely I was mad.
I had forgotten everything!
I was in a world divorced from reality, existing in it with the creature I had created.
"Good Lord!" I said.
I realized that the last train had gone.
"Stay there," I said.
"I'm going to telephone."
I rang up the Llewellyn Hire people and ordered their biggest and fastest car to come around as soon as possible.
I came back to Megan.
"The last train has gone," I said.
"So we're going home by car."
"Are we?
What fun!"
What a nice child she was, I thought.
So pleased with everything, so unquestioning, accepting all my suggestions without fuss or bother.
The car came, and it was large and fast, but all the same it was very very late when we came into Lymstock.
Suddenly conscience-stricken, I said,
"They'll have been sending out search parties for you!"
But Megan seemed in an equable mood.
"Oh, I don't think so," she said vaguely.
"I often go out and don't come home for lunch."
"Yes, my dear child, but you've been out for tea and dinner too."
However, Megan's lucky star was in the ascendant.