Stephen McKenna

“ Hilary consulted me; and, though I will never take the responsibility of advising young people in love, he was grateful for the detachment of an outsider. I, he could see, had no axe to grind. . . Brackenbury and Ruth received him effusively; my nephew Culroyd took him to his heart; if he had proposed, he would have been accepted then and there. He had done too wonderfully in the war and, in my humble judgement, gave a promise of success in any career he might undertake.
Me he consulted to know whether the world would say that he had married Phyllida for her money. ”

“ Phyllida is attractive, she is rich; for people who care about these things, she is the daughter of an earl. Undeniably young Butler had been glamoured by it all at first; but he may well have felt on reconsideration that it would not be a very suitable match, and I have yet to learn that a man thinks more highly of a girl because she throws herself at his head. That is a lesson which the rising generation will have to learn—at a heavy price. ”

“ I had to find Brackenbury and tell him that his child was safe and in good hands. . . I remember wondering, trying to make up my mind what I should think if this crise shewed Phyllida that it was Will she wanted to marry. . .
There was no one in sight. I walked cautiously to the river, expecting every moment to step over the edge. . . No sound of voices. I called: “Brackenbury!”, “Arthur!”, “Culroyd!”. There was no answer. Do you know that quite unreasoning fear that sometimes overtakes one when one is in the dark and knows that one is not alone? ”

“ I hope that Phyllida will make a success of her life. I have every reason to think she will, but I refuse to accept any responsibility for guiding young people to their affinities. After one irrational period in which I was the wicked stepmother, I suddenly find myself regarded as the good fairy. ”

“ I suggested to Ruth. “If all is as we hope, you and Brackenbury would sooner not be embarrassed by our presence.”
Poor Ruth is consistent in one thing: she never shews any instinct for arranging or managing. It is perhaps not to be expected that she should take to it by the light of nature, but one would have thought that the first ambition of any woman who had been transported from one milieu to another would have been to learn... She is in a position of authority... ”

“ I have never wholly approved of cousin-marriages; and I looked with something like dismay on their growing intimacy. That was later, of course; at first she was like a demented creature, saying the wildest and wickedest things. ”

“ They are to be married as soon as Hilary’s company has been formed. He is very anxious that Arthur should join the board, but I am not sure that it is wise to undertake too many enterprises. One is always reluctant to refuse what is really a tempting offer—on a small scale—, but there are only twenty-four hours in the day. . .
One quite rubs one’s eyes when the younger generation knocks at the door in this way. How old would you say Phyllida was? Twenty-two, I assure you; and I know what I am talking about. It will be my boy’s turn next, I suppose; he is nearly thirty-one. ”

“ Fond as I am of Phyllida, she would not have made a very suitable wife for Will, though it is essential for him to marry some one with a little money and I have felt lately that, if he could marry any one, it would put an end to this persecution from the girl who is trying to blackmail him. ”

“ They had actually, I believe, reached what is called an understanding, when Phyllida learned by chance that Colonel Butler was alive and working in London; and this, I am thankful to say, turned her attention from Will. You were not present, I think, at the great meeting? No, I remember you were away; it was one night when the princess honoured me by dining to meet a few old friends. I gave a little impromptu dance afterwards to some of the officers in Spenworth’s old regiment, not remembering that Hilary Butler was of the number; Phyllida was dining, and they met. . . ”