"Quite so," said Mr Garth. "Of course."
"Then you can"t do better than Eustace Richards. A fluent talker. But you"ve met him."
"So I have," said Garth, "now I come to think of it. He will do admirably. Then I should like Archdeacon Pringle and his wife, and that chap I went to about my throat."
"Let me see," said Ferguson--"that was Sir Edwin Goodchild, wasn"t it? A good sort--I know him well. Any more?"
"Yes. Lots more. I want that man who sweeps the crossing just outside the club. He always seemed to me to be full of character. His name is Timbs, and I don"t know his address. But in this case perhaps you"d better not write. See him personally. Could you get me a nice Suffragette?"
"Certainly," said Ferguson. "Any particular one?"
"No. Just an ordinary, plain Suffragette. Also the editor of _Happy Homes_. Likewise the Unconquerable Belgian. I don"t know at which of the halls he"s wrestling now, but you can find out."
"Suppose his trainer won"t let him come?"
"My dear Ferguson, you know very well how to deal with a case like that.
There are solid inducements that influence opinion."
"True. Would you like the girl who does my nails?"
"Your manicurist? Yes, that"s an excellent idea. We shall also need a Cabinet Minister, a nice specimen of a modern gilded youth, and somebody prominent in the Salvation Army."
The list was finally made out. Ferguson looked at it reflectively. "I suppose you wouldn"t ask me too," he said. "I wish to goodness you would!"
"You can come if you"ve got any decent clothes," said Garth, sardonically. "Behave yourself decently, mind. Don"t giggle."
"Right," said Ferguson. "This will be the day of my life. You know all your servants will give notice, of course. But that doesn"t matter, you can get others."
"It might simplify things," said Mr Garth, "if I took some rooms at the Ritz and gave the luncheon there. Arrange that for me, will you?"
"Certainly. And the date?"
"You"ll want a little time to get the gang together. Say four weeks from to-day."
Mr Ferguson needed all his tact to get them together. Lady Longsh.o.r.e, it is true, expressed herself as willing to meet anybody except her own relations. But Eustace Richards, on being told of the idea of the party, said quite frankly that he preferred to mix with his equals. "The devil of it is to find "em," said Ferguson. Richards, still frank, admitted that in the present state of dramatic art there might be something in that. He decided to attend. A Suffragette was caught by the bait of the Cabinet Minister, who subsequently refused on hearing of the Suffragette. Sir Edwin Goodchild, the editor of _Happy Homes_, the manicure lady, and Colonel Harriet Stokes, of the Salvation Army, accepted at once. Mr Timbs, who swept the crossing outside the club, was suspicious and took longer to decide. "Look "ere, Mr Ferguson," he said, "is it strite? You aren"t gettin" anythin" up for me, eh? I"ve got a good suit o" clothes, so far as that goes; one I"ve kept for funerals, so far. But I don"t want to put that on for nothing. Barrin" sells, now, is it strite?" With renewed a.s.surances Ferguson secured him. The lady of the post-office began with a direct refusal, which started in the third person and trailed off into the first. It said that she had not the honour of Mr Garth"s acquaintance, and that she was at a loss to understand, and so on. Ferguson returned to the attack, and, metaphorically, dangled the Dowager Countess of Longsh.o.r.e before her.
This failing, he changed his fly, and caught her with the Archdeacon.
The Archdeacon had known her father, and seemed to Miss Bostock to guarantee everything. It was not absolutely fair, as the Archdeacon had a professional engagement in the North on that day, and had been compelled to refuse. Mrs Pringle, however, would be present, and, as Ferguson said in self-justification, Mrs Pringle was more archidiaconal than any archdeacon living. The Unconquerable Belgian accepted in a letter written by Mr Savage, his trainer. Mr Savage expressed a hope that the Unconquerable would not be pressed to drink, and that he would be able to get away for a professional engagement at four o"clock.
On the day appointed, Lady Longsh.o.r.e was the first guest to be announced.
"Came early on purpose," she said. "This is to be a freak lunch, so Fergy says, and I want to get the hang of it."
"It"s simplicity itself," said Garth. "You are going to meet people whom you have never met before. Conventions that would interfere with this are abandoned. You will not, for instance, sit next to me."
"Nor to me," added Mr Ferguson. "But bear up."
"Don"t be a fool, Fergy, and tell me all about it."
Ferguson glanced at a plan of the table. "On your right hand, Lady Longsh.o.r.e, you will have Mr Timbs, who sweeps one of the princ.i.p.al crossings in St James"s Street, on your left will be Mr Pudbrook, who edits that serviceable kitchen weekly, _Happy Homes_. But the table is oval, and we hope that the conversation will be general."
"Well, it"s not half a bad idea. Let me look at the rest of "em." She s.n.a.t.c.hed the plan from the secretary"s hand. "Thank Heaven, I haven"t got Eustace Richards--these mummers make me angry. Here, who"s this?"
Monsieur Renard had just been announced.
"That," said Ferguson, in a low voice, "is Monsieur Renard, better known as the Unconquerable Belgian. You may have seen him on the stage."
"Quite a good deal of him--_meme trop_," said the Countess.
In the meantime the Belgian extended a hand like a twenty-pound York ham. He was an enormous athlete, whose sweet temper had not yet been injured by his prolonged war with fat. He was of great simplicity, and his forehead ran back at a gentle slope from his eyebrows to the back of his head. Intelligent? _Mais que voulez-vous que je vous dise?_ Can one have everything? His clothes were of the best quality and of the latest fashion. Let us be content.
Duncan Garth grasped some of the extended hand. "This is most kind of you, Monsieur Renard. We have all admired your prowess, and are delighted to have the chance to know you a little better."
The Belgian was slow and self-possessed. "Thank--you," he said.
"We shall have to behave ourselves," laughed Garth, "or you"ll be throwing all of us out of the window."
"But no," said the Unconquerable, seriously. "That will not be so. My manager does not permit me to do anything of that kind, unless arranged with him."
"It would be an excellent advertis.e.m.e.nt," said Garth. "Just you think it over." He turned to some new arrivals.
At this moment Ferguson laid a manicured hand on the Belgian"s almighty arm. "Pardon me, Monsieur Renard, but the Countess of Longsh.o.r.e is most anxious that you should be presented to her."
"That is all right. I kom," said the placid wrestler.
The new arrivals were Miss Bostock of the post-office, Sir Edwin Goodchild of Harley Street, and Mr Pudbrook of _Happy Homes_. Miss Bostock was tailor-made, smooth-haired, rather hygienic about the boots, and wore pince-nez. She looked as if she would have been handsomer if she had been happier. Her voice shook a little as she responded to Mr Garth"s most respectful salutation, but her nervousness was not too apparent.
"Is--is the Archdeacon here, Mr Garth?" she inquired. "He used to know my father slightly."
"The Archdeacon regrets--a conference at York. But that is Mrs Pringle just coming in. Let me take you up to her."
Sir Edwin Goodchild took Mr Garth"s secretary aside. "I say, Fergy," he said, "what the deuce is all this?"
"This?" said Ferguson, innocently. "This is a private reception-room at the Ritz. Style, Louis Quinze or thereabouts. Through those folding doors, when at the appointed time they are opened, we enter the luncheon-room. There we eat huitres_ Lucullus, consomme norvegienne, filets_--"
"Now, don"t talk nonsense."
"Nonsense, man? Considering I constructed the menu myself, I--"
"Yes, but the people. Look at that lot just come in."
"My poor lost sheep, I"ll tell you just two things. Firstly, we are eccentric millionaires. Secondly, you will be seated at lunch between Colonel Harriet Stokes, of the Salvation Army, and Miss Paul, a manicure lady."
"Let me out. This is a nightmare."