"
She did not answer to the obvious meaning of his words, but said:
"Thee has done little else but change, so far as eye can see. Thee and
thy family were once of Quaker faith, but thee is a High Churchman now.
Yet they said a year ago thee was a sceptic or an infidel."
"There is force in what you say," he replied. "I have an inquiring mind;
I am ever open to reason. Confucius said: 'It is only the supremely wise
or the deeply ignorant who never alter.'"
"Thee has changed politics. Thee made a 'sensation, but that was not
enough. Thee that was a rebel became a deserter."
He laughed. "Ah, I was open to conviction! I took my life in my hands,
defied consequences." He laughed again.
"It brought office."
"I am Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs," he murmured complacently.
"Change is a policy with thee, I think. It has paid thee well, so it
would seem."
"Only a fair rate of interest for the capital invested and the risks I've
taken," he answered with an amused look.
"I do not think that interest will increase.
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