“I wanted to speak to you,” continued his brother. “You’ll be the best one to back me up against Father.”
“What is it now?” asked Peter discouragingly.
“An idea came to me while I was driving over. I often get ideas when I drive, and this struck me as rather a good one. I think it would be just waste for me to go to a crammer’s and then to Oxford. I don’t want to go in for the church or the bar or schoolmastering or anything like that, and I don’t see why the family should drop thousands on my education just because I happen to be an Alard. I want to go in for engineering in some way and you don’t need any ’Varsity for that. I could go into some sort of a shop....”
“Well, if the way you drive a car is any indication——”
“I can drive perfectly well when I think about it. Besides, that won’t be my job. I want to learn something in the way of construction and all that. I always was keen, and it strikes me now that I’d much better go in for that sort of thing than something which won’t pay for years. There may be some sort of a premium to fork out, but it’ll be nothing compared to what it would cost to send me to Oxford.”
“You talk as if we were paupers,” growled Peter.
“Well, so we are, aren’t we?” said Gervase brightly. “Jenny was talking to me about it last night. She says we pay thousands a year in interest on mortgages, and as for paying them off and selling the land, which is the only thing that can help us....”
“I don’t see that it’s your job, anyway.”
“But I could help. Really it seems a silly waste to send me to Oxford when I don’t want to go.”
“You need Oxford more than any man I know. If you went there you might pick up some notions of what’s done, and get more like other people.”