“Ah! Then it’s high time somebody turned up to prove to you that everything you do is wrong.”
“Thank you. My step-mother does that.”
“Then what do papa and the brothers say to her?”
“If the world’s turning around depended on dear old papa’s saying a harsh word to anybody, the world would stand still. As for my brothers, especially Ted, when he is at home breakfast is a skirmish with my step-mother, luncheon is a brisk engagement, and dinner a hard-fought battle. They are always ordering each other out of the room, and it’s quite a rare thing for them both to sit out a meal at the same table.”
“The fault is not quite all on one side, I suppose.”
“Oh, no, of course not. When poor Ted is away life is not very comfortable, but at least it is not volcanic.”
“Curious that the common or garden step-mother, wherever found, should always present the same characteristics. She has children of her own, I suppose?”
“Yes, two.”
“You don’t love them—I perceive by your tone.”
“Wait till you see them, and then say whether anybody could.”