CROFTS。Well，thatsallitis。Yourmotherhasgotageniusformanagingsuchthings。We’vegottwoinBrussels，oneinOstend，oneinVienna，andtwoinBudapest。Ofcoursethereareothersbesidesourselvesinit;butweholdmostofthecapital;andyourmother’sindispensableasmanagingdirector。Youvenoticed，Idaresay，thatshetravelsagooddeal。Butyouseeyoucantmentionsuchthingsinsociety。Onceletoutthewordhotelandeverybodythinksyoukeepapublic-house。Youwouldntlikepeopletosaythatofyourmother，wouldyou？Thatswhywe’resoreservedaboutit。Bytheway，youllkeepittoyourself，wontyou？Sinceit’sbeenasecretsolong，ithadbetterremainso。
VIVIE。Andthisisthebusinessyouinvitemetojoinyouin？
CROFTS。Ohno。Mywifeshantbetroubledwithbusiness。Youllnotbeinitmorethanyouvealwaysbeen。
VIVIE。_I_alwaysbeen！Whatdoyoumean？
CROFTS。Onlythatyouvealwayslivedonit。Itpaidforyoureducationandthedressyouhaveonyourback。Dontturnupyournoseatbusiness，MissVivie：wherewouldyourNewnhamsandGirtonsbewithoutit？