They all burst upon him then with questions:
“What?” “Did you see her?” “What did she say?” “Where was she?”
“Of course I saw her. She came to me before she went off.”
“She came and you didn’t stop her!” This from Aunt Aggie. He turned then and addressed himself solely to her.
“No. I didn’t stop her. I gave her my blessing.”
Aunt Aggie would have spoken, but he went on: “Yes, and it’s you—you and Harriet and the others—who are responsible. I warned Harriet months ago, but she wouldn’t listen. What did you expect? Do you think the world’s always going on made for you and you alone? The more life’s behind you the more important you think you are, whereas it doesn’t matter a damn to anybody what you’ve done compared with what others are going to do. You thought you could tie Katherine and Philip down, take away their freedom? Well, you couldn’t, that’s all.”
“Yes,” cried Aunt Aggie, who was shaking with anger, “it’s such doctrines as yours, Timothy, that lead to Katherine and others doing the dreadful things they do. It’s all freedom now and such words, and young men like Mr. Mark, who don’t fear God and have no morals and make reprobates of themselves and all around them, can do what they please, I suppose. You talk about common-sense, but what about God? What about the Commandments and duty to your parents? They may think what they like abroad, but, Heaven be praised, there are some of us still in England who know our duty.”
He had recovered his control before she ended her speech. He smiled at her.
“The time will come,” he answered, “and I daresay it isn’t so distant as you think, when you and you fellow-patriots, Aggie, will learn that England isn’t all alone, on her fine moral pedestal, any longer. There won’t be any pedestal, and you and your friends will have to wake up and realise that the world’s pushed a bit closer together now-a-days, that you’ve got to use your eyes a bit, or you’ll get jostled out of existence. The world’s going to be for the young and the independent and the unprejudiced, not the old and narrow-minded.
“Philip Mark’s woken you all up, and thank God he has!”