‘You have a gentlemanly residence.’
‘It is, my lady, it is. It is a bijou.’
‘Ah!’ Lady Camper sighed dejectedly.
‘It is a perfect bijou!’
‘Oblige me, General, by not pronouncing the French word as if you were swearing by something in English, like a trooper.’
General Ople started, admitted that the word was French, and apologized for his pronunciation. Her variability was now visible over a corner of the battlefield like a thunder-cloud.
‘The business we have to discuss concerns the young people, General.’
‘Yes,’ brightened by this, he assented: ‘Yes, dear Lady Camper; it is a part of the business; it is a secondary part; it has to be discussed; I say I subscribe beforehand. I may say, that honouring, esteeming you as I do, and hoping ardently for your consent....
‘They must have a home and an income, General.’
‘I presume, dearest lady, that Elizabeth will be welcome in your home. I certainly shall never chase Reginald out of mine.’