"Simply enough I asked him why he should call my mother's preoccupation fortunate to him.
"He laughed outright.
"'My dear Lady Hereford,' he said, 'if her grace were at hand, do you suppose I should be allowed this delightful half hour here with you?'
"'Why not?' I asked, wonderingly.
"'Because I am what is called a detrimental. I am a poor younger son, whose presumption, as the dowagers say, is frightful. Have I any right, possessing under ten thousand a year and no title, to monopolize, even for five minutes, the smiles of Lady Estelle Hereford?'
"I knew that he was speaking satirically, but it struck me, at the same time, that his views and mine would upon many points agree.
"'What nonsense about being a poor younger son,' I said. 'What difference does it make?'
"He laughed again.
"'That is the most sensible question I ever heard, Lady Hereford, and as a younger son I thank you for it. It makes a wonderful difference in the opinion of most people.'
"'It makes none in mine,' I said, decidedly; and then I saw him look steadfastly at me. I never even gave a thought to the significance of my words. Suddenly I remembered the conversation I had had about him. I looked up into his face.