"No, she doesn't."
The assent hardly sounded like praise of her daughter.
"Well, that's a good thing. And she's got lots of pluck and a will of her own."
"Oh, yes, she's got that!"
"From time to time he'll think himself in love with somebody. You're prepared for that, of course? But it's only his way. She'll have to indulge him a little—let the string out a little here and there; but she'll always have him under control. Brains do count, and she's got them all. And she won't expect romance all the time."
"You said you were going to be encouraging."
"I am being encouraging," Caylesham insisted.
"Oh, I shouldn't think it so bad if we were talking about myself. But when it's a question of one's child——"
"One is always unreasonable? Precisely. The nature of the business isn't going to change in the next generation. But I maintain that I'm encouraging—for Anna, anyhow. I rather fancy Master Blake will miss his liberty more than he thinks. But that'll be just what he needs. So from a moral point of view I'm encouraging there too."
"Of course you don't understand the feeling of responsibility, the fear that if she's the—the least bit hard, it may be because of her bringing up."