"Can I regret it, you ask me? No, little one! J'ai l'âme fière, it is all too true, but mine is not an ignoble pride. Rather is it a pride of race, a pride of character, that has upborne me through seas far rougher than you, I trust, will ever know. It is true, I cannot deny, that it has made me suffer, but it is through suffering that I have learnt to be strong."
Aunt Clo paused again, and looked very strong indeed.
"Many have turned to me in their need, as you know. I do not think that I have failed any. Indeed, no. But where confidence is not given, I cannot seek it. For I am proud, Lily. Proud and intensely reserved."
It was, as ever, a little difficult to rise to Aunt Clo's level.
"I am happier than I was last time you came, Aunt Clo. And I think Nicholas is very happy; especially now."
"Especially?"
"I am going to have a child," said Lily.
Aunt Clo gazed at her niece for a full moment before raising her eyebrows and emphasizing her appreciation of the facts by a slow series of words that had a curious air of well-weighed significance.
"Aha! The domesticities have claimed you."
"I wanted you to know. I knew you would be glad, really, for my sake."