human
Sit down and help yourself,
gpt
Now we can be sociable, he said.
human
Really, you know, you ought to hunt more often. I have never seen you in the field once. What on earth do you do with yourself?
gpt
Many things,
human
What things?
gpt
I help my husband to the best of my ability with the estate and try to keep an eye on the poorest tenants. And then I practise the piano a good deal. I haven't time for much besides.
human
I say, do you play? said Nap, keenly interested.
gpt
I do myself, a little, not the piano--the violin. Lucas likes it, or I suppose I should have given it up long ago. But I generally have to manage without an accompaniment. There is no one can accompany at our place. It's a bit thin, you know, playing by yourself.
human
Tell me more about it, she said.
gpt
What sort of music do you care for?
human
Oh, anything, from Christmas carols to sonatas. I never play to please myself, and Lucas has very varied tastes.
gpt
He is your elder brother?
human
Yes, and one of the best. Nap spoke with unwonted feeling.
gpt
He is hopelessly crippled, poor chap, and suffers infernally. I often wonder why he puts up with it. I should have shot myself long ago, had I been in his place.
human
Perhaps he is a good man,
gpt
What do you mean by a good man?
human
I mean a man who does his duty without shirking.
gpt
Is that your ideal? he said,
human
There are plenty of men that do that, and yet their lives are anything but blameless.
gpt
Quite possibly, she agreed.
human
But if a man does his duty, he has not lived in vain. It can be no man's duty to destroy himself.
gpt
And how would you define 'duty'?
human
I can only define it for myself,
gpt
Will you do so for my benefit?
human
I have not been given much to do. I have to content myself with 'the work that's nearest.'
gpt
And if I did the same, he questioned in a drawl that was unmistakably supercilious,
human
I don't know what your capabilities are,
gpt
I have vast capabilities for evil,
human
I am sorry,
gpt
Are you really? But why? Doesn't the devil attract you? Honestly now! He leaned forward, staring straight at her, challenging her.
human
I tell you frankly, he said,
gpt
I am not what you would call a good man. But--the truth, mind!--would you like me any better if I were?