There followed polite expressions of regret for Mrs Henry Morgan's indisposition, broken into by the arrival of William, whose greeting of Mr Morgan overflowed with cordiality. "Been looking to see you in these parts for months," he said. "Beastly weather for travelling; the wind is cutting. Are those hot scones, Prudence?" William was so accustomed to being waited upon by the different members of his family that it never occurred to him to attend to his own needs. He did not observe the flush of annoyance that overspread Prudence's face, nor the reluctance with which she rose to fetch the scones in question; Mr Morgan observed it, however, and was before her in reaching the fireplace where the scones lay on a hot plate inside the fender. He stooped for the plate; and the stiffness of his movements, while apparent to Prudence, passed uncriticised on this occasion. William protested loudly. "Oh, come!" he said. "You shouldn't do that. I can't allow a visitor to wait on me. One of the girls will do it." Mr Morgan disregarded the remonstrance, refusing to relinquish the dish of scones. "My mother brought me up to wait upon her," he said, smiling. "It comes natural to me." Prudence felt pleased; but she had no faith in the lesson proving beneficial to William; he would assuredly miss the point. "Well, you're a younger man than I," said William jocularly. "I shouldn't show such energy after a long journey." Which speech, delivered for Prudence's benefit, William considered particularly tactful. He had in mind his sister's reflections on Mr Morgan's age. But Mr Morgan was not helpful. "I'm forty-three to-day," he acknowledged, with, in William's opinion, quite unnecessary candour. "I decided on this date for making the journey from sentimental reasons; it occurred to me as an altogether agreeable way of celebrating the occasion." He did not look in Prudence's direction while he spoke, for which consideration she was obliged to him: she felt the eyes of the rest focussed upon herself, and guessed what was in their thoughts in connection with these confidences. It did not in the least surprise her to hear William playfully observe that they would have to contrive something special in the way of entertainment to mark the event and make this birthday a memorable one. He looked meaningly at Prudence, and slyly at Mr Morgan, and remarked that birthdays conferred peculiar privileges and gave a right to indulgence. But Mr Morgan repudiated this. "At my age one doesn't insist on those prerogatives," he said. "The only advantage I take of the day is to give myself pleasure. I have done that."