"Oh, yes—not a bad girl at all; though I shouldn't have said she was quite your sort."
"Why not?"
"Well—arty and all that. And her looks aren't her strong point."
"You needn't be offensive, Wimsey. Surely I may be allowed to appreciate a woman of intelligence and character. I may not be highbrow, but I have some ideas beyond the front row of the chorus. And what that girl went through with that blighter Penberthy makes my blood boil."
"Oh, you've heard all about that?"
"I have. She told me, and I respected her for it. I thought it most courageous of her. It's about time somebody brought a little brightness into that poor girl's life. You don't realize how desperately lonely she has been. She had to take up that art business to give her an interest, poor child, but she's really cut out for an ordinary, sensible, feminine life. You may not understand that, with your ideas, but she has really a very sweet nature."
"Sorry, Fentiman."
"She made me ashamed, the way she took the whole thing. When I think of the trouble I got her into, owing to my damned dishonest tinkering about with—you know—"
"My dear man, you were perfectly providential. If you hadn't tinkered about, as you say, she'd be married to Penberthy by now."
"That's true—and that makes it so amazing of her to forgive me. She loved that blighter, Wimsey. You don't know. It's absolutely pathetic."