Her temperament was not one that goes out to meet happiness. She
had reluctant affections and suspected rather than welcomed the
facility of other people's. Her susceptibility to disagreeable
impressions was however very ample, and life was fenced about with
protections for her "feelings." It filled young Benham with
inexpressible indignations that his sweet own mother, so gay, so
brightly cheerful that even her tears were stars, was never to be
mentioned in his stepmother's presence, and it was not until he had
fully come to years of reflection that he began to realize with what
honesty, kindness and patience this naturally not very happy lady
had nursed, protected, mended for and generally mothered him.



4


As Benham grew to look manly and bear himself with pride, his
mother's affection for him blossomed into a passion. She made him
come down to London from Cambridge as often as she could; she went
about with him; she made him squire her to theatres and take her out
to dinners and sup with her at the Carlton, and in the summer she
had him with her at Chexington Manor, the Hertfordshire house Sir
Godfrey had given her. And always when they parted she looked into
his eyes to see if they were still clean--whatever she meant by
that--and she kissed his forehead and cheeks and eyes and lips. She
began to make schemes for his career, she contrived introductions
she judged would be useful to him later.

Everybody found the relationship charming. Some of the more