I? Goodness me, no! Many, many things will have to be unsaid before Brackenbury induces me to set foot in his house again. _You_ know whether I am the woman to stand on my dignity, but, when one's niece writes one letters in the third person... Indeed I know what I am talking about! "_Lady Phyllida Lyster presents her compliments to Lady Ann Spenworth and is not interested in any explanation that Lady Ann may think fit to put forward._" These are the manners of the war. From the very first I urged Brackenbury not to let her work in that hospital; _some_ one had to go, of _course_; I'm not so foolish as to think that a hospital would run itself without hands, but why Phyllida? And, goodness me, if they couldn't stop her, they might have made a few enquiries, exercised _some_ little control... Christine Malleson is very energetic and capable, no doubt, but you would hardly look for standards or traditions in _her_; however, she and my Lady Maitland and the rest seem able to carry people off their feet by sheer violence. Now Ruth and Brackenbury are paying for it. And, of course, poor Aunt Ann is to blame for everything. For the present I think it's best to leave them severely alone. One tries to do what seems to be one's duty; one puts up with a great many rebuffs; but in the end people must be left, in the homely old phrase, to stew in their own juice... I'm really not sure how much is supposed to be known. Phyllida will no doubt tell you her side, simply as a means of attacking me. She works herself into such a state! I told Brackenbury that he ought to send her away for a complete change... I'm sick and tired of the whole thing; I'm _sure_ it contributed to my illness; but, if it is going to be discussed, you'd better hear the truth. The whole time she was working at the hospital, Phyllida did me the honour to make my house her own; and, if I questioned my own wisdom, it was because of Will. He would be home on leave from time to time; and, perhaps on account of a curious dream which I had about them at the time of my operation, I was not at all sure that I wanted to see the intimacy increasing; when he marries, it will have to be some one with a _little_ money, but I do not want to lose him yet and I cannot feel that Phyllida is very suitable... You can imagine, therefore, whether I should be likely to scheme or contrive to throw them into each other's arms; to _intrigue_ to get rivals out of the way... I have lost the thread. Ah, yes! Phyllida! Now, I chose my words carefully: "making my house her own," not "staying in my charge." When I went into the nursing-home, I _tackled_ Brackenbury...