A Question of Vocation

Extract

‘Dukie, dear, I think Zania most suitable.’ Lady Trevor tactfully withdrew after delivering the blow. With one ingratiating look behind that might be interpreted,’ Well, just think it over quietly,’ she swept out of the room.

Of course his mother had said much more than that. She had talked for half an hour and enjoyed herself enormously. Like the experienced general she was, she had given no indication that this was to be a great offensive. Lady Trevor began with a little preliminary skirmish round the pages of a Sunday paper, and closed in suddenly on the Society column. Wasn’t this photograph of Miss Zania Wilkins just too sweet! Dukie must really look at it, and read what nice things they said about dear Zania. Sweet girl, of course she deserved every word of praise they could find to say about her. And they said it so cleverly, too. ‘This charming débutante’ and ‘this beautiful blonde’ . . . what happy phrases, that hit off darling Zania too perfectly. Didn’t he think so? Of course he had met her several times recently (yes, she came out at the Wen-ham’s dance, and what a sensation she created too!', and he would be meeting her constantly through the season. If only Providence had blessed Lady Trevor with a daughter, she would have wished her to be like Zania, so fair and frolicsome, full of such high spirits, and bubbling over with life. It was wonderful how the dear child kept it up so well. Lady Trevor supposed it was youth, beautiful youth, and sighed.

It was at this point in the monologue that the big attack began to develop. Mother wanted to talk seriously to her big, bad boy. Well, he wasn’t really bad at all, but the best big baby on earth.