Billy puffed out his cheeks to blow a sigh, and then decided to be
angry and say "Damn!"

This way of living which made him uncomfortable was clearly an
irrational and objectionable way of living. It was, in a cumbersome
way, luxurious. But the waste of life of it, the servants, the
observances, all concentrated on the mere detail of existence?
There came a rap at the door. Benham appeared, wearing an
expensive-looking dressing-jacket which Lady Marayne had bought for
him. He asked if he might talk for a bit and smoke. He sat down in
a capacious chintz-covered easy chair beside Prothero, lit a
cigarette, and came to the point after only a trivial hesitation.

"Prothero," he said, "you know what my father is."

"I thought he ran a preparatory school."

There was the profoundest resentment in Prothero's voice.

"And, all the same, I'm going to be a rich man."

"I don't understand," said Prothero, without any shadow of
congratulation.

Benham told Prothero as much as his mother had conveyed to him of
the resources of his wealth. Her version had been adapted to his
tender years and the delicacies of her position. The departed Nolan
had become an eccentric godfather. Benham's manner was apologetic,
and he made it clear that only recently had these facts come to him.
He had never suspected that he had had this eccentric godfather. It