Billy Prothero became the symbol in the mind of Lady Marayne for all
that disappointed her in Benham. He had to become the symbol,
because she could not think of complicated or abstract things, she
had to make things personal, and he was the only personality
available. She fretted over his existence for some days therefore
(once she awakened and thought about him in the night), and then
suddenly she determined to grasp her nettle. She decided to seize
and obliterate this Prothero. He must come to Chexington and be
thoroughly and conclusively led on, examined, ransacked, shown up,
and disposed of for ever. At once. She was not quite clear how she
meant to do this, but she was quite resolved that it had to be done.
Anything is better than inaction.

There was a little difficulty about dates and engagements, but he
came, and through the season of expectation Benham, who was now for
the first time in contact with the feminine nature, was delighted at
the apparent change to cordiality. So that he talked of Billy to
his mother much more than he had ever done before.

Billy had been his particular friend at Minchinghampton, at least
during the closing two years of his school life. Billy had fallen
into friendship with Benham, as some of us fall in love, quite
suddenly, when he saw Benham get down from the fence and be sick
after his encounter with the bull. Already Billy was excited by
admiration, but it was the incongruity of the sickness conquered
him. He went back to the school with his hands more than usually in
his pockets, and no eyes for anything but this remarkable strung-up
fellow-creature. He felt he had never observed Benham before, and
he was astonished that he had not done so.