“But you didn’t want to admit that Maurice was a swine, either,” I said.

She protested. “No. Maurice is not a swine! He’s a man caught between two women: no one is a very shining light in cases of that kind.”

“He never ought to have got himself into that position.”

“It happens to very decent creatures.”

She is indulgent with Maurice because she has put up with a great deal from Charles. But their relationship was a completely different story.

“I don’t believe Maurice is a decent creature anymore,” I said. “I am discovering small-minded aspects in him. I wounded his vanity by not going into ecstasies over his successes.”

“There you are unjust,” she said, with a kind of sternness. “If a man likes to talk about his work, that is not vanity. It has always surprised me that you care so little for what Maurice does.”

“I’ve nothing of any interest to say to him about it.”

“No. But he would certainly have liked to tell you about his difficulties, and the things he had discovered.”