could have eaten two helpings of pudding while he had been talking,
that caused Mr. Arlington to lose the thread of his discourse. To
put it quite bluntly, what Mr. Arlington meant to say was this: He
had never wanted to be a farmer--at least not in the beginning.
Other men in his position, having acquired competency by years of
self-sacrificing labour, would have retired to a well-earned
leisure. Having yielded to persuasion and taken on the job, he was
going to see it through; and everybody else was going to do their
share or there would be trouble.

Mr. Arlington, swallowing the remains of his glass in a single gulp,
spoilt a dignified exit by violently hiccoughing, and Mrs. Arlington
rang the bell furiously for the parlourmaid to clear away. The
pudding passed untouched from before the very eyes of the twins. It
was a black-currant pudding with brown sugar.

That night Mrs. Arlington appears to have confided in the twins,
partly for her own relief and partly for their moral benefit. If
Mrs. Arlington had enjoyed the blessing in disguise of a less
indulgent mother, all might have been well. By nature Mrs.
Arlington had been endowed with an active and energetic temperament.
"Miss Can't-sit-still-a-minute," her nurse had always called her.
Unfortunately it had been allowed to sink into disuse; was now in
all probability beyond hope of recovery. Their father was quite
right. When they had lived in Bayswater and the business was in
Mincing Lane it did not matter. Now it was different. A farmer's
wife ought to be up at six; she ought to see that everybody else was
up at six; servants looked after, kept up to the mark; children
encouraged by their mother's example. Organisation. That was what
was wanted. The day mapped out; to every hour its appointed task.