I was not telephoning that kind of young lady!
I beg your pardon, sir.
Can one . . . Is this that sort of house?
Your father owns this house, sir. You are at home.
Then . . . he . . . This was very difficult for Harold . . . he wouldn't object if I, if I . . . He achieved the end in a rush and a gulp . . . had women here?
Object, sir? Drains raised his eyebrows. Object? Certainly not.
The tone of Drains's reply was profoundly lacking in doubt.
Would he then . . . The horror of the idea almost stifled speech. . . . Would he then be willing?
I can vouch for that, sir. Drains's tone was now both deferential and parental.
Is it . . . Harold was sitting bolt upright in bed. . . . Is it what he wants?
I can only repeat my orders, sir. They are definite. You are to do anything you please. I have had considerable experience, sir, in observing young men do what they please. In London, sir—Drains drew himself up with considerable side—, I was in the employ of the Duke of Middlebottom. That is why your father engaged me.
Harold's face was a blank.
I perceive, sir, that the name of the Duke of Middlebottom has no associations for you. The
