‘Good bye, mother,’ Herbert was saying, as the pair passed by.
‘Good bye, my boy; come again soon. You are an honest lad not to forget us, although you’ve come to be so great a man.’
And with that the old woman kissed him tenderly on the brow, although they stood at the cottage door, almost in the open street.
‘Whose quarter is that?’ the aide-de-camp asked of a passing orderly, pointing back, after they had ridden a little way on.
‘Sergeant Larkins’, sir. Principal barrack sergeant, sir.’
At which Mountcharles looked hard at Edith, and with a comical face.
‘Well, what do I care? What is it to me? It is quite proper of him. It is his duty not to neglect his parents.’
‘Oh, of course. She’s a dear old thing, too, I can see that. How would you like her for a mother-in-law, Edith Prioleau, eh?’
‘How dare you suggest such a thing, Captain Mountcharles?’ cried Edith, blushing red.