Steven. But don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Helen. Well, you deserve to have the cold shoulder for talking to us so.
Rose. Yes, just as if we had all turned tuft-hunters.
Mrs. W. At least it shows modesty. The boys all take for granted they cannot stand up against the new-comer.
Rose. Oh, Mrs. Wycherly, what nice, honest, guileless men you must have known when you were a girl! To think that these should gain the reputation of modesty by their grumbling!
Helen. Yes, dear, they are delusions and snares, having fully mastered Talleyrand’s aphorism “that words were meant to conceal ideas.”
Amy. “Put not your trust in kings and princes.”
George. That’s just what we want, only please extend it to the aristocracy.
Rose. You all deserve to have us leave you to your own devices, as soon as we can get a decent substitute.
Mrs. W. Well, if Lord Ferrol is anything like his father, I can promise you no unworthy one, even compared to my boys here.