The disclosure shifted the discussion significantly, away from Shirley’s larger anxieties and her desire to hear the language of devotion toward Alec’s more pragmatic focus. He was concerned that his financial circumstances were not strong, writing in December that he felt “selfish and inconsiderate at having asked you to share so little,” and he suggested that it might be wiser for them to wait until he had had a chance to establish himself on a surer financial footing. He was also concerned that farming might not be Shirley’s ideal life:

If you are prepared, I am fairly confident that we shall make out, albeit probably never to the extent of attending cocktail parties regularly twice a week … We have a house to live in and even now I have gathered together more than the minimum in the way of furniture, linen and all the other oddses that a house has to have. The future prospects are that unless a major disaster occurs to me or the farm, I should be in a position to set up on my own in about six years’ time. The main snags are not that we shall starve but that the life of a farmer’s wife may strike you as being too dull and lacking in scope. This is a serious and vital aspect of the thing and you will have to judge for yourself when you arrive in this country. I am peculiar in that I like this sort of life and would have no other. You probably do not know whether you like it or not being guided for the moment by your whatsit. I could not blame you if having seen the set-up you told me to go to hell. That would be a pity as you are the only girl I have ever wanted to marry but don’t let that influence you too much.