“Good night, dear child,” she said, “I thought you looked sweet tonight.”
Lady Ursula wore a white cambric nightgown with a little yoke collar and long sleeves. Her hair hung in two plaits.
“Mama,” she said. “Edward proposed to me tonight.”
“Darling. What a funny girl you are. Why didn’t you tell me before? You weren’t frightened, were you? You know that your father and I are delighted at anything that makes our little girl happy.”
“Well, I said I wouldn’t marry him … I’m sorry.”
“But, my dear, it’s nothing to be sorry about. Leave it to your old mother. I’ll put it all right for you in the morning.”
“But, Mama, I don’t want to marry him. I didn’t know until it actually came to the point. I’d always meant to marry him, as you know. But somehow, when he actually asked me … I just couldn’t.”
“There, dear child, you mustn’t worry any more. You know perfectly well, don’t you, that your father and I would not let you do anything you didn’t want. It’s a matter that only you can decide. After all, it’s your life and your happiness at stake, not ours, isn’t it, Ursula … but I think you’d better marry Edward.”
“But, Mama, I don’t want to … I couldn’t … it would kill me!”
“Now, now, my pet mustn’t worry her head about it any more. You know your father and I only want your happiness, dear one. No one is going to make my darling girl do anything she doesn’t want to. … Papa shall see Edward in the morning and make everything all right … dear Lady Anchorage was only saying tonight what a lovely bride you will make.”
“But, Mama …”
“Not another word, dear child. It’s very late and you’ve got to look your best for Edward tomorrow, haven’t you, love?”
The Duchess closed the door softly and went to her own room. Her husband was in his dressing-room.
“Andrew.”
“What is it, dear? I’m saying my prayers.”
“Edward proposed to Ursula tonight.”
“Ah!”
“Aren’t you glad?”
“I told you, dear, I’m trying to say my prayers.”
“It’s a real joy to see the dear children so happy.”
IX
At luncheon time next day Adam rang up Nina.
“Nina, darling, are you awake?”
“Well, I wasn’t …”
“Listen, do you really want me to go and see your papa today?”
“Did we say you were going to?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To say could we be married now I had a job.”
“I remember … yes, go and see him, darling. It would be nice to be married.”
“But, listen, what about my page?”
“What page, angel?”
“My page in the Excess … my job, you know.”
“Oh … well, look … Ginger and I will write that for you.”
“Wouldn’t that be a bore?”
“I think it would be divine. I know just the sort of things you say. … I expect Ginger does too by now, the poor angel … how he did enjoy himself last night. … I’m going to sleep now … such a pain … goodbye, my sweet.”
Adam had some luncheon. Agatha Runcible was at the next table with Archie Schwert. She said they were all going to some motor races next day. Would Adam and Nina come, too. Adam said yes. Then he went to Aylesbury.
There were two women on the other side of the carriage, and they, too, were talking about the Younger Generation.
“… and it’s a very good position, too, for a boy of that age, and I’ve told him and his father told him. ‘You ought to think yourself lucky,’ I’ve said, ‘to get a good position like that in these days, particularly when it’s so hard to get a position at all of any kind or sort.’ And there’s Mrs. Hemingway with her son next door who left school eighteen months ago, and there he is kicking his heels about the house all day and doing nothing, and taking a correspondence course in civil engineering. ‘It’s a very good position,’ I told him, ‘and, of course, you can’t expect work to be interesting, though no doubt after a time you get used to it just as your father’s done, and would probably miss it if you hadn’t it to do’—you know how Alfred gets on his holidays, doesn’t know what to do with himself half the time, just looks at the sea and says, ‘Well, this is a change,’ and then starts wondering how things are at the office. Well, I told Bob that, but it’s no good, and all he wants to do is to go into the motor business; well, as I said to him, the motor business is all right for them that have influence, but what could Bob hope to do throwing up a good job, too, and with nothing to fall back on supposing things did go wrong. But, no, Bob is all for motors, and, of course, you know it doesn’t really do having him living at home. He and his father don’t get on. You can’t have two men in a house together and both wanting the bath at the same time, and I suppose it’s only natural that Bob should feel he ought to have his own way a bit more now that he’s earning his own money. But, then, what is he to do? He can’t go and live on his own with his present salary, and I shouldn’t be any too pleased to see him doing it even if he could afford it—you know what it is with young people, how easy it is to get into mischief when they’re left to themselves. And there are a great many of Bob’s friends now that I don’t really approve of, not to have in and out of the house, you know the way they do come. He meets them at the hockey club he goes to Saturdays. And they’re most of them earning more money than he is, or, at any rate, they seem to have more to throw about, and it isn’t good for a boy being about
