Charles goes on...

Plague

I have drifted off topic. I was telling old Bert about Lily. Extraordinary is the word I used and I want to tell you why.

I will commence with a whiskery old truism and tell you that it has been the joy of my life to be married to this girl. The joy of my days...Really, I haven’t looked back, personally or professionally since she took me in hand. This will sound odd, but we are a team. I know what you’re thinking! Charles is getting soft in the head! At best, a wife is a soothing and comforting presence, a source of offspring and an efficient chatelaine. At worst, a shrewish burden. But I tell you, it’s not like that between us. Right from day one, I have been able to depend on Lily’s advice, her steady temper and her instincts. She is not like other women, my Lily.

Perhaps, I am also not like other men, for I know few men who would relish a serious discussion of business matters with their wife – especially when she disagrees with one! But she brooks no foolishness, and I respect her opinion. I hope you won’t think less of me for it.

So...

Extraordinary...

You will be saying to yourself Charles has a good wife – lucky Charles! This hardly qualifies the term extraordinary though... I say to you many wives are steady and stalwart creatures through the tribulations of family life, but My Lily has risen to become an extraordinary creature of calm and reason in the face of...well... perhaps I should just tell you about that summer.