"No. You have never loved me!"

The King drew his cigar from his mouth, and flicking off a morsel of
ash, looked at its end meditatively.

"Well--no!--I cannot say honestly that I have. Love,--it is a
ridiculous word, Humphry, but it has a meaning on certain occasions!--
love for the children of your mother is an impossibility!"

"Sir, I am not to blame for my mother's disposition."

"True--very true. You are not to blame. But you exist. And that you do
exist is a fact of national importance. Will you not sit down?"

"At your command, Sir!" and the Prince seated himself opposite his
father, who having studied his cigar sufficiently, replaced it between
his lips and went on smoking for a few minutes before he spoke again.
Then he resumed:--

"Your existence, I repeat, Humphry, is a fact of national importance.
To you falls the Throne when I have done with it, and life has done
with me. Therefore, your conduct,--your mode of life--your example in
manners--concern, not me, so much as the nation. You say that you
cannot trust me as a friend, because I have never loved you. Is not
this a somewhat childish remark on your part? We live in a very
practical age--love is not a necessary tie between human beings as
things go nowadays;--the closest bond of friendship rests on the basis
of cash accounts."