“Well, there is none else to use it. But I cannot imagine Dick turned sober!”

“ ’Tis easy to be righteous after the evil is done, I’m thinking!”

My lord ignored this remark. A curious smile played about his mouth.

“Egad, Miles, ’tis very entertaining! I, the erstwhile sober member⁠—what is the matter?⁠—am now the profligate: I dice, I gamble, I rob. Dick the ne’er-do-weel is a saint. He⁠—er⁠—lives a godly and righteous life, and⁠—er⁠—is robbed by his wife’s relations. After all, I do not think I envy him overmuch.”

“At least, you enjoy life more than he does,” said O’Hara, grinning. “For ye have no conscience to reckon with.”

Carstares’ face was inscrutable. He touched his lips with his napkin and smiled.