One day Vera said to him, "Nicky, do you know that Desmond is going about a good deal with Alfred Orde-Jones?"
"Is she? Is there any reason why she shouldn't?"
"Not unless you call Orde-Jones a reason."
"You mean I've got to stop it? How can I?"
"You can't. Nothing can stop Desmond."
"What do you think I ought to do about it?"
"Nothing. She goes about with scores of people. It doesn't follow that there's anything in it."
"Oh, Lord, I should hope not! That beastly bounder. What could there be in it?"
"He's a clever painter, Nicky. So's Desmond. There's that in it."
"I've hardly a right to object to that, have I? It's not as if I were a clever painter myself."