He could not bear that any one else should have a word with Sir Maurice.

The Twins were intolerable with their interruptions, their claims on their uncle's attention.

They disgusted Captain Baster: when he became their stepfather, it would be his first task to see that they learned a respectful silence in the presence of their elders.
He never gave a thought to his proposal; he sought no occasion to make it.

Captain Baster's love was of his life a thing apart, but his social aspirations were the chief fact of his existence.

Besides, there was no haste; he knew that Mrs.Dangerfield was awaiting his avowal with a passionate eagerness; any time would do for that.