That impressed me. “I have not said I would not consent to this marriage,” I reminded her. “As a matter of fact, I’m in favor of it. I can see no future for Margot in America——”
“No, indeed,” cried Edna eagerly. “She simply couldn’t marry over there. She’d be wretched.”
“But I feel it is my duty— Rather late in the day for me to talk about duty toward my daughter, after neglecting it all these years. Still, I ought to see to it that she has the best possible chance for a smooth married life. It’s only common prudence to take all precautions—isn’t it?”
“All sensible precautions,” said she.
“You know how many of these foreign ‘alliances,’ as they’re called, have turned out badly.”
“They get a good many divorces in the states,” she suggested smilingly. “One to every twelve marriages, I read the other day.”
I admitted that she had made an effective retort. “The truth is,” said I, “American women aren’t brought up for domestic life. So, whether they marry at home or abroad they have trouble.”
“Men resent their independence,” said Edna.
“It may be so,” said I. Of what use to point out to her that the trouble lay in the women’s demanding to be supported and refusing to do anything to earn their support? All I said was: “I suspect a good many husbands think the marriage contract too one-sided—binding only them and not their wives. But the trouble with the ‘alliances’ can’t be that.”
“It’s because Europeans look on the wife as a kind of head servant. But Hugh isn’t that sort.”