Arthur caught the kindly banter in his tone; he flushed a little and smiled in answer. "It was very jolly there in the winter too, if you come to that, sir. Ripping skating!"
"Does all the family skate?"
"No, not all the family." He laughed. "Just enough of it, Sir Christopher."
The old man sat back in his chair and sipped his hock. "Some men can get on without a woman about them but, so far as I've observed you, I don't think you're that sort. If you must have a woman about you, there's a good deal to be said for its being your own wife, and not, as so often happens, somebody else's. May we include that among our recent discoveries?"
"But your own wife costs such a lot of money."
"So do the others—very often. Don't wait too long for money, or for too much of it. Things are jolliest in the spring!"
"I suppose I'm rather young. I'm only twenty-five, you know."
"And a damned good age for making love too!" Sir Christopher pronounced emphatically.
"Oh, of course, if that's your experience, sir!" laughed Arthur.
Sir Christopher grew graver. "Does the wound heal at Hilsey?"