AGNES. [Threading a needle.] You forget, dear, that you and I have prepared ourselves for a good deal of this sort of thing.
LUCAS. Certainly, but at the moment—
AGNES. One must take care that the regret lasts no longer than a moment. Have you seen your uncle?
LUCAS. A glimpse. He hadn't long risen.
AGNES. He adds sluggishness to other vices, then?
LUCAS. [Lighting a cigarette.] He greeted me through six inches of open door. His toilet has its mysteries.
AGNES. A stormy interview?
LUCAS. The reverse. He grasped my hand warmly, declared I looked the picture of health, and said it was evident I had been most admirably nursed.
AGNES. [Frowning.] That's a strange utterance. But he's an eccentric, isn't he?
LUCAS. No man has ever been quite satisfied as to whether his oddities are ingrained or affected.