"Tanqueray? What does he know about it?"
"More than we do, I suspect. He says the normal, healthy thing for her is to write, to write tremendous books, and she'll suffer if we thwart her. He says we don't understand her."
"Does he suggest that you don't understand her?" asked Sophy.
Brodrick smiled. "I think he was referring more particularly to Henry."
Henry tried to smile. "He's not a very good instance of his own theory. Look at his wife."
"That only proves that Tanqueray's books aren't good for his wife. Not that they aren't good for Tanqueray. Besides, Prothero says the same thing."
"Prothero!"
"He ought to know. He's a doctor."
Henry dismissed Prothero with a gesture.
"Look here, Hugh. It simply comes to this. Either there must be no more books or there must be no more children. You can't have both."