"No. Thank goodness, I have not seen any pestering teenagers roaming about. Present company excluded, of course. Well, blast it all, girl! Don't you have guardians or some such taking an interest in your locale? Heavens knows what's wrong with parents these days. Allowing their children to roam about unescorted. If I didn't have more important things to attend to, or if I gave a bloody damn in the first place, I'd tell Pickering to call the Home Office -- Oh, that reminds me. Ought to call on the Home Office and see if Pickering is still there. Blast! Where has everyone gone to?"
Of course, Henry was hardly paying attention to the girl anymore. He was off in one of his abstract mental places. Where he went to conjure up more colorful insults and ponder his own greatness.
"Never should have let that confounded woman in my life in the first place!"