He thought it a bore to have women at a dinner where the wine and food were the first objects of interest.
And he told himself that the sooner Beryl understood that if he wished to have a bachelor party she must make other arrangements for herself, the better.
As he thought of his intended, he realised how disappointed his mother had been in his choice of a wife.
He had known that was inevitable as he drove North to break the news of his impending marriage, but he found himself remembering the sadness in the Dowager Marchioness’s eyes and the wistful note in her voice.
‘She will be happy enough once I am married,’ he told himself optimistically, ‘and when we have children she will both love and spoil them.’
It occurred to him for the first time that the life Beryl had lived up to now
