She was feeling a touch of shame as well as the slight resentment which was partly her class-instinct, partly of her sex.
'I feel that I have no right to give any opinion,' she said in an undertone.
'Meaning, Adela,' commented her brother, 'that you have a very strong opinion and stick to it.' 'One thing I dare say you are thinking, Miss Waltham,' Richard pursued, 'if you'll allow me to say it.

You think that I myself don't exactly prove what I've been saying--I mean to say, that I at all events have had free time, not only to read and reflect, but to give lectures and so on.

Yes, and I'll explain that.

It was my good fortune to have a father and mother who were very careful and hard-working and thoughtful people; I and my sister and brother were brought up in an orderly home, and taught from the first that ceaseless labour and strict economy were the things always to be kept in mind.

All that was just fortunate chance; I'm not praising myself in saying I've been able to get more into my time than most other working men; it's my father and mother I have to thank for it.