Lady Kean’s eyes were very thoughtful.
“I wonder. The new generation is better able to look after itself than any of us are willing to admit. If she does come a toss, which is more than possible, I’m inclined to think she will pick herself up and say nothing about it. She’s got more grit than I ever had, Hatter.”
“Nonsense!” Fayre began explosively; but she interrupted him.
“It’s true,” she went on, her voice half whimsical, half sad. “I never stood up to life and it broke me. If I had, I should not be the useless creature I am to-day. Cynthia will fight like a little tiger and come out at the end, scarred perhaps, but probably a wiser and better woman than she was before. There’s something gallant about her. …”
Her voice trailed off and he knew she was thinking of the past.
“Useless creature is grossly inaccurate,” he said gruffly. “No one who has seen you with Edward could call you that.”
She turned on him eagerly.
“Do you think he’s happy?” she asked with an insistence that surprised him. “He gives so much and I seem to have so little to offer in return.”
“You are everything to him,” he answered with conviction. “I have never seen a man so changed. I believe he’s younger now at heart than he was when I first knew him.”
“His capacity for work is still inhuman. If he hadn’t got nerves like steel he would have broken down long ago. I feel frightened about him sometimes. He’s so incapable of half-measures. Sometimes I think these very strong people are really the weakest. Their hold on things is so tremendous that when they lose them . . .”