But a duel is a
foolish thing,--a very foolish thing. Come;--here is dinner." And the
Earl walked off with Lady Cantrip, and Lord Cantrip walked off with
Lady Laura. Barrington Erle followed, and Phineas had an opportunity
of saying a word to his friend, Lord Chiltern, as they went down
together.
"It's all right between you and your father?"
"Yes;--after a fashion. There is no knowing how long it will last. He
wants me to do three things, and I won't do any one of them."
"What are the three?"
"To go into Parliament, to be an owner of sheep and oxen, and to hunt
in his own county. I should never attend the first, I should ruin
myself with the second, and I should never get a run in the third."
But there was not a word said about his marriage.
There were only seven who sat down to dinner, and the six were all
people with whom Phineas was or had been on most intimate terms.
Lord Cantrip was his official chief, and, since that connection had
existed between them, Lady Cantrip had been very gracious to him.
She quite understood the comfort which it was to her husband to have
under him, as his representative in the House of Commons, a man whom
he could thoroughly trust and like, and therefore she had used her
woman's arts to bind Phineas to her lord in more than mere official
bondage.
Pages:
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966