“Does n't she really see the fun,” he thought, “in one man dining out of gold and another dining in the gutter; or in two married people living on together in perfect discord 'pour encourages les autres', or in worshipping Jesus Christ and claiming all her rights at the same time; or in despising foreigners because they are foreigners; or in war; or in anything that is funny?” But he did her a certain amount of justice by recognising that this was natural, since her whole life had been passed in trying not to see the fun in all these things.
But Antonia stood smiling in the doorway. Brilliant and gay she looked, yet resentful, as if she knew they had been talking of her. She sat down by Shelton's side, and began asking him about the youthful foreigner whom he had spoken of; and her eyes made him doubt whether she, too, saw the fun that lay in one human being patronising others.
“But I suppose he's really good,” she said, “I mean, all those things he told you about were only—”
“Good!” he answered, fidgeting; “I don't really know what the word means.”
Her eyes clouded. “Dick, how can you?” they seemed to say.
Shelton stroked her sleeve.
“Tell us about Mr. Crocker,” she said, taking no heed of his caress.
“The lunatic!” he said.
“Lunatic! Why, in your letters he was splendid.”
“So he is,” said Shelton, half ashamed; “he's not a bit mad, really—that is, I only wish I were half as mad.”