Strong in the Lord, therefore, and indeed in comparatively good spirits considering the vileness with which we had been brought into contact, we returned home to a belated but none the less substantial meal; and it was not until this had been absorbed and my mother was in the scullery, cleansing the dishes that had contained it, that my father referred again to the interview that had been arranged for the following day.
“Although it seemed wise,” he said, “to suggest to that creature that both you and I would be present at it, I am afraid that my obligations to the Consolidated Water Board will in reality prevent me from being there, and that you must be prepared therefore, my dear Augustus, to face that female alone.”
I bowed my head.
“I pray that you may trust me,” I said.
With a slightly increased colour my father rose to his feet.
“I have no doubt of it,” he said. “But at the same time—at the same time—oh, Augustus, Augustus!”
Deeply moved, he advanced two or three paces and leaned heavily against the harmonium.
“You see, my boy,” he continued—at what a cost I could only afterwards guess “with this interview you will be definitely entering upon a new and most perilous phase of experience. For the first time—I must ask you to turn down the lamp—for the first time, as a marriageable adult, you will be called upon to encounter, face to face, a woman of fierce and unbridled passions.”
Here he paused for a moment and I could feel the floor shaking.
“Oh, father,” I cried. “Can I not spare you?”