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"One can't be stand-offish," he said. "You were all sloshing it down, and if I had drunk water----"

"Pity you didn't," said Jonah. "That would have made us think. Never mind. The highest you can put it is that we are guilty of contributory negligence. All of us--equally. I tell you frankly, I never gave the Plazas a thought."

"Nor did anyone else," said I. "They were very civil, and we were civil back. Where we tore it right up was in letting a perfect stranger fix our wine."

"But we did it together," cried Piers. "He asked me to give him the salt, and I stood by his side. I saw him open the bottle and I could have sworn he never put anything in."

"Sleight of hand," said Jonah. "He opened the bottle five minutes before it was used."

"He said it'd cool quicker open."

"And then he left you to serve it and came and sat down. But what an artist. Never mind. What do we do?"

"We'd better go home," said Daphne. "We'd better pack up and go to White Ladies at once."

"We can't do that," said I. "The painters are in."