. . . He must choose. But I know his choice. Yes,
yes,--I'm not blind. She's worked upon him. . . . I have done what
I could to bring out the manhood in him. Perhaps it will bear the
strain. . . . It will be a wrench, old man--God knows."
He did his very best to make it a wrench.
2
Benham's mother, whom he saw quarterly and also on the first of May,
because it was her birthday, touched and coloured his imagination
far more than his father did. She was now Lady Marayne, and a
prominent, successful, and happy little lady. Her dereliction had
been forgiven quite soon, and whatever whisper of it remained was
very completely forgotten during the brief period of moral
kindliness which followed the accession of King Edward the Seventh.
It no doubt contributed to her social reinstatement that her former
husband was entirely devoid of social importance, while, on the
other hand, Sir Godfrey Marayne's temporary monopoly of the caecal
operation which became so fashionable in the last decade of Queen
Victoria's reign as to be practically epidemic, created a strong
feeling in her favour.
Pages:
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89