I am told, neglect their womenkind, give them
money and power, let them loose on the world.... It is a sort of moral
laziness masquerading as affection.... Still I suppose custom and
tradition kept this girl in her place and she was petted, honoured,
amused, talked about but not in a harmful way, and rather bored right
up to the time when America came into the war. Theoretically she had a
tremendously good time."

"I think this must be near the truth of her biography," said Sir
Richmond.

"I suppose she has lovers."

"You don't mean--?"

"No, I don't. Though that is a matter that ought to have no special
interest for you. I mean that she was surrounded by a retinue of men who
wanted to marry her or who behaved as though they wanted to marry her or
who made her happiness and her gratifications and her condescensions
seem a matter of very great importance to them. She had the flattery of
an extremely uncritical and unexacting admiration. That is the sort of
thing that gratifies a silly woman extremely. Miss Grammont is not silly
and all this homage and facile approval probably bored her more than she
realized. To anyone too intelligent to be steadily excited by buying
things and wearing things and dancing and playing games and going to
places of entertainment, and being given flowers, sweets, jewellery, pet
animals, and books bound in a special sort of leather, the prospect of
being a rich man's only daughter until such time as it becomes advisable
to change into a rich man's wealthy wife, is probably not nearly so
amusing as envious people might suppose. I take it Miss Grammont had got
all she could out of that sort of thing some time before the war, and
that she had already read and thought rather more than most young women
in her position. Before she was twenty I guess she was already looking
for something more interesting in the way of men than a rich admirer
with an automobile full of presents. Those who seek find."

"What do you think she found?"

"What would a rich girl find out there in America? I don't know. I
haven't the material to guess with. In London a girl might find a
considerable variety of active, interesting men, rising politicians,
university men of distinction, artists and writers even, men of science,
men--there are still such men--active in the creative work of the
empire.

"In America I suppose there is at least an equal variety, made up of
rather different types. She would find that life