"A male spirit or a female spirit?"
"Female, I think. Anyhow I addressed it as such."
"What did you say to her?"
"I said, 'You darling.'"
That startled her, if you like! She looked frightened, then coloured deeply. Urquhart seemed full of his own thoughts.
"How's Lancelot?" he asked her.
That helped her. "Oh, he delights me. Another 'living spirit.' He never fails to ask after you."
"He harps on your story. The first you ever told us. This time he put in his postscript, 'How is Wives and Co?'"
He nodded. "Very good. I begat an immortal. That tale will never die. He'll tell it to his grandchildren."