"Cold," Ernest insisted. This was one point he was unwilling to cede, for no other reason than he'd decided to be stubborn. "The hosts may be French, but the guests are English. My point regarding patriotism stands; no one wants to give money to the French." That may not have been as solid of a point as he was implying. He, for one, had no real control over how his money was spent, and he didn't think it mattered a whit to his wife what the cause for the fundraiser was. She would buy things she liked and maybe a few things she didn't, regardless of what the money was going towards. If he was lucky, he might get a tally of it at the end, but actually tightening the purse strings in any capacity was far more trouble than it was worth for him.

But reality wasn't as interesting as their game, so cold it was. "I'll grant you the location," he offered, "For the hosts' sentimentality. But I wager English missionaries there, all the same. Hot or cold?"