'You think so?' Arthur raised an eyebrow and turned to his friends up on the staircase. 'Christopher! That fellow Sheridan. You say he told you that Captain Absolute was based on an actual acquaintance of his?'

'That's right.'

'Surely not.' Sarah refused to believe a word of it. 'That can't be true.'

'Oh, it is.' Arthur lowered his voice and leaned closer. 'Absolutely true.'

He started laughing, a peculiar dry barking noise that always aggravated his mother, and she tapped him gently on the shoulder.'That will do,Arthur. It appears that you have not grown up quite as much as I'd hoped. So I think we'll leave you to amuse yourself with your little friends. Do send word to me when you are ready to come home.'

'As soon as I've had some fun, Mother.'

'By Christmas, at any rate.'

The day, when it came, was cold, wet and windy, and Arthur was glad to shut the door on it when he arrived at his mother's small house in Chelsea, not so very far from Brown's establishment where he had passed a few miserable years as a child. He handed his coat and hat to a servant and followed the sounds of conversation down the carpeted hall to an open door at the end. The parlour was a decent size, but seemed bigger due to the small amount of furniture it contained. A fire was glowing in a large grate and seated around it were his mother, Richard and William. Lady Mornington's other children were staying with friends to celebrate Christmas. Or so she claimed, thought Arthur. Far more likely was the prospect that they had been sent away so that she could engineer a small conference of the more senior members of the family to settle Arthur on a career as expeditiously as possible.

Richard rose from the chair with a smile and crossed the room to shake his hand. 'Welcome, Arthur! It's good to see you again after, what, over a year?'

'A year and a half actually.'

'Mother tells me that you had a profitable time in France. That's good. Better still, you have settled on a military career.'

'Yes, that's what I intend, eventually,' Arthur replied. 'I should quite like to be a soldier.'

'Excellent! Then I shall see what I can do to further that aim.' Richard stood aside and waved his younger brother towards an empty seat by the fireplace. 'There. We can talk until the meal is ready.'

Once Arthur was seated, it was William's turn to make small talk. 'So, Arthur, what did they teach you in France?'

Arthur had been asked this many times since his return from Angers, mostly by relatives and friends of his mother, and the temptation to be flippant was overwhelming. 'Let me see. In addition to French, riding and fencing I became quite adept at drinking.'

His attempt at levity met with a stony silence. He shrugged. 'So, how are things at Oxford? Still dabbling in the classics?'

'Dabbling?' William smiled. 'I see, you are teasing me.'

'Am I?' Arthur looked surprised. 'Why, bless me. I think you may be right!'

He laughed and after a short delay the others joined in, before William stopped and addressed his younger brother. 'Actually, I'm doing very well. I have been told that I should have a chair at one of the colleges before the end of next year.'

'Congratulations. I'm very proud of you.'

William sat back with a warm smile of satisfaction, then noted the cross expression on his mother's face and sat forward again with a start as she entered the conversation.

'William and Richard are both making the family proud. So is young Gerald. I would not be surprised if he followed William's example and became a scholar.' She fixed her eyes on Arthur. 'That leaves you, Arthur. You lack a purpose in life. You always have. Playing the violin and carousing with your friends is not very fulfilling.'

'Oh, it is. I can assure you.'

'Arthur,' Richard said wearily, 'don't be so tiresome. Don't pretend you don't know what we're talking about. It's time you made your own way in life. Mother and I will not continue to subsidise your idle pleasures any longer.You must make something of yourself in uniform, that has been agreed. I have already taken the liberty of broaching the subject with a friend of mine, the Duke of Rutland, who happens to be the lord-lieutenant of Ireland. He has some influence at the War Ministry and is trying to secure a commission for you. We will need to move quickly, before he forgets his promise.'

'I'm not sure I'm quite ready to commit myself just yet,' said Arthur. 'A few more months in London should allow me to mature to the point where I can make a decent soldier.'

'Arthur, you are almost eighteen. I know of scores of youngsters who have been in uniform for over a year already. If you are to make up for lost time and compete with them then we must secure a commission for you at once.'

'Supposing, for argument's sake, that I didn't want to join the army just yet?'

'Arthur!' Lady Mornington snapped in frustration. 'Be quiet! You are going to join the army, whether you like it or not. And do you know why? Because it is all you are fit for. You are so lacking in aptitude for anything that we have been forced to make the choice for you.'

Inside his breast Arthur felt something give way and a torrent of injured pride and anger finally poured through his veins and found its voice. He stood up. 'Enough! I've had enough. All my life I've had to listen to you berating me. Sure, I'm not as clever as Richard and William. I'll never show the promise of Gerald. I won't ever be as accomplished a musician as Father. I know all that, Mother! And you know what? The knowledge sits in my heart like a rock.'

'Calm down.' Richard raised a hand. 'This is not solving anything. Arthur, can you blame us for the perception you create of yourself? I, at least, believe that you have some potential.'

'Why, thank you, brother.'

'So why act the fop?'

Arthur made a hurt expression. 'I thought I was acting the dandy.'

Richard smiled. 'Either way, you can't keep this performance up for ever.'

'We'll see. I'm game.'

'I'm sure you are, Arthur. But the question is, when are you going to stop punishing us for what you see as your own failings? Acting as you do will not change things. It makes you look foolish and irresponsible. And it reflects badly on the rest of the family. So you see, no one wins. In fact, we all lose.You most of all.You must see that?'

Arthur shrugged. 'So what should I do?'

'Just as Mother says. Join the army. Commit yourself to the career. I'm sure you will do well. And, if any opportunity comes up outside the army, for which I deem you suitable, then you might want to pursue a new path instead.'

'I see.You quietly thrust me into the army so I can stop being an embarrassment to the family. If you're lucky there might even be another war, or some plague-ridden posting halfway across the world for which I might be deemed suitable. That would dispose of me very satisfactorily.'

'No one's trying to get rid of you, Arthur. We just want what's best for you. If there is a war, who knows, it might be the making of you.'

Arthur suddenly felt very weary of it all. He had hoped for some kind of a reconciliation with his family, some kind of acceptance that he could do just as well as them, in a field of his own choosing.

'I need to think about this. I need a rest. Somewhere quiet. Mother?'

'Upstairs,' she replied. 'First door on the left. Be sure to take your shoes off before you take to the bed. I'll send for you when the meal is served. Please be in a more convivial mood at the table.'

'Thank you.'Arthur left the room.As he mounted the stairs the conversation in the parlour resumed at a low level. He was tempted to stop, and listen, but it was pointless. He already knew what would be said.

As if to confirm his expectations William's voice suddenly rose up.'I've never known such monstrous ingratitude! Why, the fellow has the audacity to blame us for his shortcomings!'