Checking this frivolous fancy, Soames unfolded his Marriage Settlement.  He had not looked at it for over eighteen years, not since he remade his Will when his father died and Fleur was born.  He wanted to see whether the words “during coverture” were in.  Yes, they were—­odd expression, when you thought of it, and derived perhaps from horse-breeding!  Interest on fifteen thousand pounds (which he paid her without deducting income tax) so long as she remained his wife, and afterward during widowhood “dum casta”—­old-fashioned and rather pointed words, put in to insure the conduct of Fleur’s mother.  His Will made it up to an annuity of a thousand under the same conditions.  All right!  He returned the copies to Gradman, who took them without looking up, swung the chair, restored the papers to their drawer, and went on casting up.

“Gradman!  I don’t like the condition of the country; there are a lot of people about without any common sense.  I want to find a way by which I can safeguard Miss Fleur against anything which might arise.”

Gradman wrote the figure “2” on his blotting-paper.

“Ye-es,” he said; “there’s a nahsty spirit.”

“The ordinary restraint against anticipation doesn’t meet the case.”

“Nao,” said Gradman.

“Suppose those Labour fellows come in, or worse!  It’s these people with fixed ideas who are the danger.  Look at Ireland!”

“Ah!” said Gradman.

“Suppose I were to make a settlement on her at once with myself as beneficiary for life, they couldn’t take anything but the interest from me, unless of course they alter the law.”

Gradman moved his head and smiled.

“Ah!” he said, “they wouldn’t do tha-at!”

“I don’t know,” muttered Soames; “I don’t trust them.”

“It’ll take two years, sir, to be valid against death duties.”

Soames sniffed.  Two years!  He was only sixty-five!

“That’s not the point.  Draw a form of settlement that passes all my property to Miss Fleur’s children in equal shares, with antecedent life-interests first to myself and then to her without power of anticipation, and add a clause that in the event of anything happening to divert her life-interest, that interest passes to the trustees, to apply for her benefit, in their absolute discretion.”

Gradman grated:  “Rather extreme at your age, sir; you lose control.”

“That’s my business,” said Soames sharply.

Gradman wrote on a piece of paper:  “Life-interest—­anticipation—­divert interest—­absolute discretion....” and said: 

“What trustees?  There’s young Mr. Kingson; he’s a nice steady young fellow.”

“Yes, he might do for one.  I must have three.  There isn’t a Forsyte now who appeals to me.”

“Not young Mr. Nicholas?  He’s at the Bar.  We’ve given ’im briefs.”

“He’ll never set the Thames on fire,” said Soames.