In the evening Lord Rotherwood renewed his entreaties to Claude to join him on his travels.  He was very much bent on taking him, for his own pleasure depended not a little on his cousin’s company.  Claude lay on the glassy slope of the terrace, while Lord Rotherwood paced rapidly up and down before him, persuading him with all the allurements he could think of, and looking the picture of impatience.  Lily sat by, adding her weight to all his arguments.  But Claude was almost contemptuous to all the beauties of Germany, and all the promised sights; he scarcely gave himself the trouble to answer his tormentors, only vouchsafing sometimes to open his lips to say that he never meant to go to a country where people spoke a language that sounded like cracking walnuts; that he hated steamers; had no fancy for tumble-down castles; that it was so common to travel; there was more distinction in staying at home; that the field of Waterloo had been spoilt, and was not worth seeing; his ideas of glaciers would be ruined by the reality; and he did not care to see Cologne Cathedral till it was finished.

On this Lily set up an outcry of horror.

‘One comfort is, Lily,’ said Lord Rotherwood, ’he does not mean it; he did not say it from the bottom of his heart.  Now, confess you did not, Claude.’

Claude pretended to be asleep.

‘I see plainly enough,’ said the Marquis to Lily, ’it is as Wat Greenwood says, “Mr. Reynold and the grapes."’

‘But it is not,’ said Lily, ’and that is what provokes me; papa says he is quite welcome to go if he likes, and that he thinks it will do him a great deal of good, but that foolish boy will say nothing but “I will think about it,” and “thank you"’

‘Then I give him up as regularly dense.’

‘It is the most delightful plan ever thought of,’ said Lily, ’so easily done, and just bringing within his compass all he ever wished to see.’

’Oh! his sole ambition is to stretch those long legs of his on the grass, like a great vegetable marrow,’ said Lord Rotherwood.  ’It is vegetating like a plant that makes him so much taller than any rational creature with a little animal life.’

‘I think Jane has his share of curiosity,’ said Lily, ’I am sure I had no idea that anything belonging to us could be so stupid.’

‘Well,’ said the Marquis, ‘I shall not go.’

‘No?’ said Lily.

‘No, I shall certainly not go.’

‘Nonsense,’ said Claude, waking from his pretended sleep, ’why do you not ask Travers to go with you?  He would like nothing better.’

’He is a botanist, and would bore me with looking for weeds.  No, I will have you, or stay at home.’

Claude proposed several others as companions, but Lord Rotherwood treated them all with as much disdain as Claude had shown for Germany, and ended with ’Now, Claude, you know my determination, only tell me why you will not go?’