“A problem?” she queried.
“Of course, in a proper romantic book the man is always the winner and it is only with love that he comes anywhere close to being defeated because women are so much subtler than he is. And they use everything, however crooked, to get their own way.”
“If that is your experience,” Malva replied, “I am rather sorry for you. I think women should be attractive but also considerate and, of course, gentle towards the man they love.”
She paused for a moment before she added,
“Mama said often enough ‘a man must be Master in his own house,’ and that, of course, is true. A woman, if she is really feminine wants the man to be the conqueror in every way even though she is clever enough to make him feel that he has to fight for what he really longs for.”
Royden stared at h
