"I wish poor Dorothy could feel that way about Drayton."
"She does--really. But that's different. Frank had to go. It was his profession. Nicky's gone in of his own free will."
He did not remind her that Frank's free will had counted in his choice of a profession.
"Once," said Frances, "volunteers didn't count. Now they count more than the whole Army put together."
They were silent, each thinking the same thing; each knowing that sooner or later they must speak of it.
Frances was the braver of the two. She spoke first.
"There's Michael. I don't know what to make of him. He doesn't seem to want to go."
That was the vulnerable place; there they had ached unbearably in secret. It was no use trying to hide it any longer. Something must be done about Michael.
"I wish you'd say something to him, Anthony."
"I would if I were going myself. But how can I?"