"I am afraid De Vaux will not be in condition to do much to-day. He drank heavily last evening. He has been in our employ a long time, and as a rule has done very well. But I wish that he drank less."
"You must remember, Hector, the class to which Mr. De Vaux belongs. He is of noble family."
"All the more reason why he should keep control of himself. I was ashamed of him last night."
"But, Hector, people of rank all drink. You must not forget that Mr. De Vaux is a man of birth."
"Probably he was born some time, my dear. But from all accounts there does not seem to be much reason to be proud of the manner of it."
"Now, Hector, you ought to make allowance for the nobility. They have privileges which common people have not."
"They certainly seem to take them."
"That's not fair to people of rank, Hector. They have always been accustomed to do these things. Now with Dr. Sinclair, for example, it is quite different. He belongs to the common people and never had the chance to be anything else but respectable. But Mr. De Vaux and Mr. Carteret are men of quality. You couldn't expect them to be teetotallers and—and——"
"Decent," supplied her husband.
"Oh, I didn't mean just that."