'Certainly not; and in the meantime let me suggest that a little of this brandy would not be amiss, if you don't want him to find a patient in you. You look uncommonly shaky.'
Roland accepted the suggestion and the proffered glass.
'Miss Stanley's mother seems to have her wits about her?'
'Yes, Mrs Stanley's a sensible woman—but she's not Miss Stanley's mother. Mr Stanley was married twice.'
'There are no other children?'
'No.'
'Poor woman,' said Litvinoff, sincerely enough, though for a certain reason he was not displeased to hear that Clare was an only child. 'He seems to have been a rich man,' went on Litvinoff, glancing round the room.
'Yes, he had more than he knew what to do with. It seems hard that he should have had to leave it all so suddenly,' said Roland, growing sentimental.
'It is a great pity men have to leave their wealth behind them. If they could only take it with them, there would not be so many young people growing up in vicious idleness.' Then, as it suddenly occurred to him that this might possibly be considered personal, he went on in his most approved didactic manner,—'Since death is inevitable, how lucky we ought to think it that so few people have anything to live for. I believe to a great many people the best thing in life is the certainty that some day or other they'll get out of it.'