"My father is an interesting example——"
"Your father? Not——"
"Not Nap—Lord, no! He's only a nigger. I tell him so when he swanks too much, and riles me."
Kathleen reflected how Mr. Napier Kirby must love his golden-haired young stepson.
"Then your father isn't dead?"
"Not a bit of it; he comes to tea sometimes, when we're at home." Teddy forgot the various forms and degrees of vice, and became quite chummily confidential: "Mother divorced my father; she jolly well had to. But they're still pals. And I believe she's still quite keen. He's got ... fascination—I've felt it myself. I don't know why she married this bounder, three years ago. He's tremendously clever in his line, of course, and rich. And she likes to be made comfortable. I don't blame her. But it's a bit rough on me. He was crazy to get her ... her fair colouring and all that.... Rum thing, the subtle attraction of black to white, isn't it?"
"Nasty little boy!" whispered Kathleen, unheard.
"But I don't believe he's keen any more; she's snubbed him too often; and Nap's not the sort to forgive a snub. He's not happy unless he's being admired for something. Such an awful kid! And as for his mother—oh crumbs! She lives with us too, worse luck. You should just see her when my pater comes to tea!"
Kathleen wished she could. It struck her that the tea-party, complete with watercress, would afford amusing study to the impartial onlooker. She drew Teddy on to discourse on the members of his eccentric family. By easy stages they returned to the picnic party, and found Fred Worley at the sixth instalment of his anecdote, and the rest of the company gorged and quarrelsome. Napier Kirby flung them a quick inscrutable look as they passed him....
And then Teddy demolished the remainder of the cakes, and Kathleen gulped down several cups of lukewarm insects swimming in pale tea; and everybody despondently helped to pack up; and each man took more than his fair share of the general burden; and solemnly, two and two, they plodded away from that place where they had eaten, back to their home, two miles distant....