"
The Duchess pursed her lips.
"When one has the honour, my dear," she said, "of belonging to so
wonderful an organisation as this we must not consider too closely
the selfish claims of family. I am sure that years ago I should
have laughed at any one who had told me that I, Georgina Croxton,
should ever belong to such a thing as a secret society, even though
it had some connection with so harmless and excellent an
organisation as the Primrose League."
"It does seem remarkable," Lucille murmured.
"But look what terrible times have come upon us," the Duchess
continued, without heeding the interruption. "When I was a girl a
Radical was a person absolutely without consideration. Now all our
great cities are hot-beds of Socialism and--and anarchism. The
whole country seems banded together against the aristocracy and the
landowners. Combination amongst us became absolutely necessary in
some shape or form. When the Prince came and began to drop hints
about the way the spread of Socialism had been checked in Hungary
and Austria, and even Germany, I was interested from the first.
And when he went further, and spoke of the Society, it was I who
persuaded Dorset to join. Dear man, he is very earnest, but very
slow, and very averse to anything at all secretive. I am sure the
reflection that he is a member of a secret society, even although
it is simply a linking together of the aristocracy of Europe in
their own defence, has kept him awake for many a night.
Pages:
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223