t uninterested in my people here, not by
any means, and they bore me less than going to court and visiting my
father-in-law. I watch them from birth, see that they are properly
clothed and fed, that they go to school as soon as they are old enough,
later that they find a situation here or elsewhere--those that have no
work to do at home. My son gives the young men and women a complete
wardrobe when they start out to win their way in life, and the details
fall on me. It means correspondence, mothers' meetings, and all that
sort of thing. Even during the London season I come down once a month.
Of course it is a bore, but on the whole tradition is rather kind than
otherwise in making life more or less of a routine."

"Wouldn't you miss it if your son married?" Isabel wondered if this
woman had really given her the impression of tragic secrets, unlimited
capacities for both license and arrogance. In this early morning
freshness there was hardly a suggestion of the woman of the world,
barely of the great lady; and in the rich tones of her voice there was a
genuine note of interest in her poor.

"Oh, I should always keep an eye on them; young wives have so many
distractions. If I had to give them up--yes, of course it would mean a
vacancy in my collection of habits; one side of me clings strongly to
traditions and duty. The other--well, I'd like to be a free-lance in the
world for a while--although," she added, with a sharp intonation, "I
don't suppose I should stay away from Jack very long. It is a great
relief to have a vital interest in life outside one's self. You, of
course, are not old enough to have discovered that; and, indeed, I am
not always so sure that it is possible."

Isabel did not ask her if she would not be jealous of the wife who must,
if he loved her, take the greater part of all that her "Jack" had to
give; she divined in this many-sided woman a quality in her attitude
towards her son with which ordinary maternal affection had little in
common. Her fine eyes flashed with pride at the mention of his name, and
it was more than evident that he was her deep and abiding interest; but
this keen and curious young student of life had never seen any one less
maternal. Lady Victoria's attitude, indeed, might as reasonably be that
of a proud sister or wife. When he was beside her she looked almost
commonplace in her content. The moment he passed out of her sight some
phase of individuality promptly lit its torch. L