Several comments on this speech suggested themselves to Lord Emsworth. In the first place, he did not approve of Freddie"s allusion to one of America"s merchant princes as "the old boy."
Second, his son"s att.i.tude did not strike him as the ideal att.i.tude of a young man toward his betrothed. There seemed to be a lack of warmth. But, he reflected, possibly this was simply another manifestation of the modern spirit; and in any case it was not worth bothering about; so he offered no criticism.
Presently, Freddie having given his shoes a flick with a silk handkerchief and thrust the latter carefully up his sleeve, they pa.s.sed out and down into the main lobby of the hotel, where they parted--Freddie to his bit of breakfast; his father to potter about the streets and kill time until luncheon. London was always a trial to the Earl of Emsworth. His heart was in the country and the city held no fascinations for him.
On one of the floors in one of the buildings in one of the streets that slope precipitously from the Strand to the Thames Embankment, there is a door that would be all the better for a lick of paint, which bears what is perhaps the most modest and unostentatious announcement of its kind in London. The grimy ground-gla.s.s displays the words:
R. JONES
Simply that and nothing more. It is rugged in its simplicity.
You wonder, as you look at it--if you have time to look at and wonder about these things--who this Jones may be; and what is the business he conducts with such coy reticence.
As a matter of fact, these speculations had pa.s.sed through suspicious minds at Scotland Yard, which had for some time taken not a little interest in R. Jones. But beyond ascertaining that he bought and sold curios, did a certain amount of bookmaking during the flat-racing season, and had been known to lend money, Scotland Yard did not find out much about Mr. Jones and presently dismissed him from its thoughts.
On the theory, given to the world by William Shakespeare, that it is the lean and hungry-looking men who are dangerous, and that the "fat, sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o" nights," are harmless, R. Jones should have been above suspicion. He was infinitely the fattest man in the west-central postal district of London. He was a round ball of a man, who wheezed when he walked upstairs, which was seldom, and shook like jelly if some tactless friend, wishing to attract his attention, tapped him unexpectedly on the shoulder. But this occurred still less frequently than his walking upstairs; for in R. Jones" circle it was recognized that nothing is a greater breach of etiquette and worse form than to tap people unexpectedly on the shoulder. That, it was felt, should be left to those who are paid by the government to do it.
R. Jones was about fifty years old, gray-haired, of a mauve complexion, jovial among his friends, and perhaps even more jovial with chance acquaintances. It was estimated by envious intimates that his joviality with chance acquaintances, specially with young men of the upper cla.s.ses, with large purses and small foreheads--was worth hundreds of pounds a year to him. There was something about his comfortable appearance and his jolly manner that irresistibly attracted a certain type of young man. It was his good fortune that this type of young man should be the type financially most worth attracting.
Freddie Threepwood had fallen under his spell during his short but crowded life in London. They had met for the first time at the Derby; and ever since then R. Jones had held in Freddie"s estimation that position of guide, philosopher and friend which he held in the estimation of so many young men of Freddie"s stamp.
That was why, at twelve o"clock punctually on this Spring day, he tapped with his cane on R. Jones" ground gla.s.s, and showed such satisfaction and relief when the door was opened by the proprietor in person.
"Well, well, well!" said R. Jones rollickingly. "Whom have we here? The dashing bridegroom-to-be, and no other!"
R. Jones, like Lord Emsworth, was delighted that Freddie was about to marry a nice girl with plenty of money. The sudden turning off of the tap from which Freddie"s allowance had flowed had hit him hard. He had other sources of income, of course; but few so easy and unfailing as Freddie had been in the days of his prosperity.
"The prodigal son, by George! Creeping back into the fold after all this weary time! It seems years since I saw you, Freddie.
The old gov"nor put his foot down--didn"t he?--and stopped the funds. d.a.m.ned shame! I take it that things have loosened up a bit since the engagement was announced--eh?"
Freddie sat down and chewed the k.n.o.b of his cane unhappily.
"Well, as a matter of fact, d.i.c.kie, old top," he said, "not so that you could notice it, don"t you know! Things are still pretty much the same. I managed to get away from Blandings for a night, because the gov"nor had to come to London; but I"ve got to go back with him on the three-o"clock train. And, as for money, I can"t get a quid out of him. As a matter of fact, I"m in the deuce of a hole; and that"s why I"ve come to you."
Even fat, jovial men have their moments of depression. R. Jones"
face clouded, and jerky remarks about hardness of times and losses on the Stock Exchange began to proceed from him. As Scotland Yard had discovered, he lent money on occasion; but he did not lend it to youths in Freddie"s unfortunate position.
"Oh, I don"t want to make a touch, you know," Freddie hastened to explain. "It isn"t that. As a matter of fact, I managed to raise five hundred of the best this morning. That ought to be enough."
"Depends on what you want it for," said R. Jones, magically genial once more.
The thought entered his mind, as it had so often, that the world was full of easy marks. He wished he could meet the money-lender who had been rash enough to advance the Honorable Freddie five hundred pounds. Those philanthropists cross our path too seldom.
Freddie felt in his pocket, produced a cigarette case, and from it extracted a newspaper clipping.
"Did you read about poor old Percy in the papers? The case, you know?"
"Percy?"
"Lord Stockheath, you know."
"Oh, the Stockheath breach-of-promise case? I did more than that.
I was in court all three days." R. Jones emitted a cozy chuckle.
"Is he a pal of yours? A cousin, eh? I wish you had seen him in the witness box, with Jellicoe-Smith cross-examining him! The funniest thing I ever heard! And his letters to the girl! They read them out in court; and of all--"
"Don"t, old man! d.i.c.kie, old top--please! I know all about it. I read the reports. They made poor old Percy look like an absolute a.s.s."
"Well, Nature had done that already; but I"m bound to say they improved on Nature"s work. I should think your Cousin Percy must have felt like a plucked chicken."
A spasm of pain pa.s.sed over the Honorable Freddie"s vacant face.
He wriggled in his chair.
"d.i.c.kie, old man, I wish you wouldn"t talk like that. It makes me feel ill."
"Why, is he such a pal of yours as all that?"
"It"s not that. It"s--the fact is, d.i.c.kie, old top, I"m in exactly the same bally hole as poor old Percy was, myself!"
"What! You have been sued for breach of promise?"
"Not absolutely that--yet. Look here; I"ll tell you the whole thing. Do you remember a show at the Piccadilly about a year ago called "The Baby Doll"? There was a girl in the chorus."
"Several--I remember noticing."
"No; I mean one particular girl--a girl called Joan Valentine.
The rotten part is that I never met her."
"Pull yourself together, Freddie. What exactly is the trouble?"
"Well--don"t you see?--I used to go to the show every other night, and I fell frightfully in love with this girl--"
"Without having met her?"
"Yes. You see, I was rather an a.s.s in those days."
"No, no!" said R. Jones handsomely.
"I must have been or I shouldn"t have been such an a.s.s, don"t you know! Well, as I was saying, I used to write this girl letters, saying how much I was in love with her; and--and--"
"Specifically proposing marriage?"
"I can"t remember. I expect I did. I was awfully in love."
"How was that if you never met her?"
"She wouldn"t meet me. She wouldn"t even come out to luncheon.
She didn"t even answer my letters--just sent word down by the Johnny at the stage door. And then----"
Freddie"s voice died away. He thrust the k.n.o.b of his cane into his mouth in a sort of frenzy.