“Still, you wouldn’t mind so much the talk about him?”

“My God, Connie, all the bloody contriving!”

“I know! It’s sickening! But what can I do?”

“Contriving, conniving; conniving, contriving! Makes a man think he’s lived too long.”

“Come, Father, if you haven’t done a good deal of contriving and conniving in your time, you may talk.”

“But it was different, I assure you.”

“It’s always different.”

Hilda arrived, also furious, when she heard of the new developments. And she also simply could not stand the thought of a public scandal about her sister and a gamekeeper. Too, too humiliating!