"To come?" He bent towards her. "Of course, it's marvellous to me! Was
that what you meant?"

"No. To think ... other girls ..." She could not speak distinctly.

"Other girls?" Keith appeared astonished. "Do you really believe ..." He
too paused. "No other girls come on this yacht to see me. I've known
other girls. I've made love to other girls--what man hasn't? You don't
get to my age without ..."

"Without what?" Jenny asked coolly.

"I'm not pretending anything to you. I'm thirty and a bit over. A man
doesn't get to my age...No man does, without having been made a fool
of."

"Oh, I don't mind that," Jenny said sharply. "It's the girls you've
fooled."

"Don't you believe it, Jenny. They've always been wiser than me. Say
they've known a bit more. You're different ..." Jenny shook her head,
sighing.

"I bet they've all been that," she slowly said. "Till the next one." The
old unhappiness had returned, gripping her heart. She no longer looked
at him, but stared away, straight in front of her.

"Well, what if they had all been different?" Keith persisted. "Supposing
I were to tell you about them, each one.... There's no time for it,
Jenny. You'll have to take my word for it. You'll do that if you want