“I did not write her at first.  The first time I went to see her.  And I told her kindly but plainly what I had to tell her!  It was my duty to do it and I didn’t flinch.”

Lily was breathing fast; her eyes narrowed unpleasantly.

He managed to master his astonishment and anger; but it was a heavy draught on his reserve of self-discipline, good temper, and common sense to pass over this thing that had been done to him and to concentrate himself upon the main issue.  When he was able to speak again, calmly and without resentment, he said: 

“The first thing for us to do, as a family, is to eliminate all personal bitterness from this discussion.  There must be no question of our affection for one another; no question but what we wish to do the best by each other.  I accept that as granted.  If you took the step which you did take it was because you really believed it necessary for my happiness—­”

“I still believe it!” she insisted; and her lips became a thin, hard line.

“Then we won’t discuss it.  But I want to ask you one thing; have you talked with mother about it?”

“Yes—­naturally.”

“Has she told you all that I told her this afternoon?”

“I suppose so.  It does not alter my opinion one particle,” she replied, her pretty head obstinately lowered.

He said:  “Valerie West will not marry me if my family continues hostile to her.”

Lily slowly lifted her eyes: 

“Then will you tell me why she permits herself to be seen so constantly with you?  If she is not going to marry you what is she going to do?  Does she care what people are saying about her?—­and about you?”

“No decent people are likely to say anything unpleasant about either of us,” he said, keeping a tight rein on himself—­but the curb was biting deeply now.  “Mother will stand by me, Lily.  Will you?”

His sister’s face reddened:  “Louis,” she said, “I am married; I have children, friends, a certain position to maintain.  You are unmarried, careless of conventions, uninterested in the kind of life that I and my friends have led, and will always lead.  The life, the society, the formalities, the conventional observances are all part of our lives, and make for our happiness and self-respect; but they mean absolutely nothing to you.  And you propose to invade our respectable and inoffensive seclusion with a conspicuous wife who has been a notorious professional model; and you demand of your family that they receive her as one of them!  Louis, I ask you, is this fair to us?”

He said very gravely:  “You have met Valerie West.  Do you really believe that either the dignity or the morals of the family circle would suffer by her introduction to it?”

“I know nothing about her morals!” said his sister, excitedly.

“Then why condemn them?”

“I did not; I merely reminded you that she is a celebrated professional model.”