"I am sorry. It is most disagreeable. I have had the same experience
myself, but at the beginning of the night."
The words jumped out. The moment I had said them I was sorry, and when
I saw her poor startled face I could have cried. The slow red rose in
her cheeks; we stared into each other's eyes, and both spoke at the same
time. She said:--
"Oh-oh! Can you _hear_?"