“I decided that the Brothers should go to their work during the day (as such relations do), and only be engaged for the evening to escort my clients, as their sisters, to balls, theatres, etc. I knew that young men in London society were supposed to let themselves out for dances; so why not as Brothers?”
“Why not, indeed?” I murmured sympathetically.
“We do not find,” she continued vivaciously, “that it leads to matrimonial complications, as the men who seek employment as Brothers are usually so very impecunious that they understand that marriage is out of the question for them. I was told by my friends, by which I mean all those who felt themselves privileged to say nasty things to me, that we should degenerate into a matrimonial agency, but I have not found it so. On the contrary, every man entering his name on our books, and every girl engaging a Brother, signs a paper agreeing to pay a large prohibitive fine should they get engaged to each other during the period of fraternity. Any man known to be engaged is obliged to take his name off the books at once, as we find fiancées very prejudiced, and several unpleasant visits were paid to me at the office. Any man becoming engaged while fulfilling a contract is liable to instant dismissal at the employer’s pleasure, it having been found that he almost invariably becomes remiss and inattentive in his discharge of duties.
“one sister was seen at the theatre by an old maiden aunt.”
“Of course, till the significance of the title of ‘Brother’ became generally known in London society, there arose a good deal of scandal and confusion.
“One sister was seen at the theatre by an old maiden aunt, who had never heard of the Agency. The young lady offered as an explanation that the man with her was ‘only engaged for the time,’ which so shocked the poor old lady that she made a codicil next day to her will reciting her niece’s misbehaviour and disinheriting her.”
“That kind of misunderstanding,” I said, “can hardly occur any longer.”
“I should think not,” she retorted. “And meantime, thank goodness, the term ‘Brother’ has put an end to that hackneyed form of refusal, ‘I love you as a brother.’ The sisters are only allowed to require the attention of the Brothers for a stated number of nights a week, and the work is well paid. On the other hand, the sisters escape all the duties they generally have to perform for their real brothers, such as practising accompaniments, mending, shopping, or running messages.
