In spite of Stella's appeal he interrupted and interrupted sharply.
"It doesn't seem to me an unnatural question for any woman to ask who has not seen London for eight years.

After all, say what you like, for women India means exile--real exile." Ballantyne turned upon his visitor with some rejoinder on his tongue.
But he thought better of it.

He looked away and contented himself with a laugh.
"Yes," said Stella, "we need next-door neighbours." The restraint which Ballantyne showed towards Thresk only served to inflame him against his wife.
"So that you may pull their gowns to pieces and unpick their characters," he said.

"Never mind, Stella! The time'll come when we shall settle down to domestic bliss at Camberley on twopence-halfpenny a year.

That'll be jolly, won't it?
Long walks over the heather and quiet evenings--alone with me.