CHAPTER V
Messrs. Wadham, Son and Dickson were not habited in luxury. Theirs wasone of those old-fashioned suites of offices in Lincoln's Inn, wherethe passages are of stone, the doors of painted deal, and a general airof bareness and discomfort prevails. The Marquis, who was a rarevisitor, followed the directions of a hand painted upon the wall andfound himself in what was termed, an enquiry office. A small boy torehimself away with apparent regret from the study of a pile ofdocuments, and turned a little wearily towards the caller.
"I desire," the Marquis announced, "to see Mr. Wadham, Senior, or toconfer at once with any member of the firm who may be disengaged."
The small boy was hugely impressed. He glanced at the long row ofblack boxes along the wall and a premonition of the truth began to dawnupon him.
"What name, sir?" he enquired.
"The Marquis of Mandeleys."
The office boy swung open a wicket gate and pointed to the hard remainsof a horsehair stuffed easy-chair. The Marquis eyed it curiously--andremained standing. His messenger thereupon departed, exhibiting a rareand unlegal haste. He returned breathless, in fact, from his mission,closely followed by Mr. Wadham, Junior.
"This is quite an honour, your lordship," the latter said, hastilywithdrawing his hand as he became aware of a certain rigidity in hisvisitor's demeanour. "My father is disengaged. Let me show you theway to his room."
"I should be obliged," the Marquis assented.
Mr. Wadham, Senior, was an excellent replica of his son, a littlefatter, a little rosier and a little more verbose. He rose from behindhis desk and bowed twice as his distinguished client entered. TheMarquis indicated to Mr. Wadham, Junior, the chair upon which heproposed to sit, and waited while it was wheeled up to the side of thedesk. Then he withdrew his gloves in leisurely fashion and extendedhis hand to the older man, who clasped it reverently.
"Your lordship pays us a rare honour," Mr. Wadham, Senior, observed.
"I should have preferred," the Marquis said, with some emphasis, "thatcircumstances had not rendered my visit to-day necessary."
The head of the firm nodded sympathetically.
"You will bear in mind," he begged, "our advice concerning these recentactions."
"Your advice was, without doubt, legally good," his visitor replied,"but it scarcely took into account circumstances outside the legalpoint of view. However, I am not here to discuss those actions, whichI understand are now finally disposed of."
"Quite finally, I fear, your lordship."
"I find myself," the Marquis continued sternly, "in the painfulposition of having to prefer a complaint against your firm."
"I am very sorry--very sorry indeed," Mr. Wadham murmured.
"I discovered yesterday afternoon, entirely by accident, that theallowance which you have my instructions to make to Miss Hannaway hasnot been paid for the last two quarters."
"Through no neglect of ours, I assure your lordship," Mr. Wadhaminsisted gravely. "You will remember that we wrote to you lastOctober, pointing out that the yield from the estates was insufficient,without the help of the bank, to meet the interest on the mortgages,and that, amongst other claims which we were obliged to leave over, weshould be unable to forward the usual cheque to the young lady inquestion."
The Marquis cleared his throat and tapped with his long forefingersupon the desk. It was a curious circumstance that, although both Mr.Wadham, Senior, and Junior had done more than their duty towards theirdistinguished client, each had at that moment the feeling of a criminal.
"You are, I believe, perfectly well aware, Mr. Wadham," the Marquisdeclared, "that I never read your letters."
Mr. Wadham, Senior, coughed. His son thrust both hands into histrousers pockets. The statement was unanswerable.
"I was therefore," the Marquis continued severely, "in completeignorance of your failure to carry out my instructions."
Mr. Wadham, Junior, less affected than his father by tradition, andpriding himself more upon that negligible gift of common sense,interposed respectfully but firmly.
"We can scarcely be responsible," he pointed out, "for your lordship'sindisposition to read letters containing business information ofimportance."
The Marquis changed his position slightly and looked at the speaker.Mr. Wadham, Junior, became during the next few seconds profoundlyimpressed with the irrelevance, almost the impertinence of his words.
"I should have imagined," the former said severely, "that my habits arewell-known to the members of a firm whose connection with my family isalmost historical."
"We should have waited upon your lordship," Mr. Wadham, Senior,admitted. "But with reference to the case of this young lady, nothearing from your lordship, we wrote to her, very politely, indicatingthe great difficulties which we had to face in the management of theMandeleys estates, owing to the abnormal agricultural depression, andwe promised to send her a cheque as soon as such a step becamepossible. In reply we heard from her--a most ladylike and reasonableletter it was--stating that owing to recent literary successes, and toyour lordship's generosity through so many years, she was only too gladof the opportunity to beg us to cease from forwarding the quarterlyamount as hitherto. Under those circumstances, we have devoted suchsmall sums of money as have come into our hands to more vital purposes."
"I suppose it did not occur to you," the Marquis observed, "that I amthe person to decide what is or is not vital in the disposition of myown moneys."
"That is a fact which we should not presume to dispute," the lawyeradmitted, "but I should like to point out that, on the next occasionwhen we had a little money in hand, your household steward, Mr.Harrison, was here in urgent need of a thousand pounds for the paymentof domestic bills connected with the establishment in Grosvenor Square."
"It appears to me," the Marquis said, with a trace of irritability inhis tone, "that the greater part of my income goes in paying bills."
The complaint was one which for the moment left Mr. Wadham speechless.He was vaguely conscious that an adequate reply existed, but it eludedhim. His son, who had adopted the attitude of being outside thediscussion, was engaged in an abortive attempt to appear as much atease in his own office as this client of theirs certainly was.
"I will discuss the matter of Miss Hannaway's future allowance withthat young lady, and let you know the result," the Marquis announced."In the meantime, how do we stand for ready money?"
"Ready money, your lordship!" his interlocutor gasped.
"Precisely," the Marquis assented. "It is, I believe, a few days afterthe period when my tenants usually pay their rents."
"Your lordship," Mr. Wadham said, speaking with every attempt atgravity, "if every one of your tenants paid their full rent and broughtit into this office at the present moment, we should still be unable topay the interest on the mortgages due next month, without furtheradvances from the bank."
"These mortgages," the Marquis remarked thoughtfully, "are a nuisance."
So self-evident a fact seemed to leave little room for comment ordenial. The Marquis frowned a little more severely and withdrew hisforefingers from the desk.
"Figures, I fear, only confuse me," he confessed, "but for the sake ofcuriosity, what do my quarterly rents amount to?"
"Between seven and eight thousand pounds, according to deductions, yourlordship," was the prompt reply. "That sum I presume will be coming infrom your agent, Mr. Merridrew, within the course of a few days. Theinterest upon the mortgages amounts to perhaps a thousand pounds lessthan that sum. That thousand pounds, I may be permitted to point outto your lordship, is all that remains for the carrying on of yourGrosvenor Square establishment, and for such disbursements as arenecessary at Mandeleys."
"It is shameful," the Marquis declared severely, "that any one shouldbe allowed to anticipate their income in this way. Mortgages are mostvicious institutions."
Mr. Wadham coughed.
"Your lordship's expenditure, some ten or fifteen years ago, rendered
them first necessary. After that there was the unfortunate speculationin the tin mines--"
"That will do, Mr. Wadham," his client interrupted. "All I desire toknow from you further is a statement of the approximate sum required toclear off the mortgages upon the Mandeleys estates?"
Mr. Wadham, Senior, looked a little startled. His son stoppedwhistling under his breath and leaned forward in his chair.
"Clear off the mortgages," he repeated.
"Precisely!"
"The exact figures," was the somewhat hesitating pronouncement, "wouldrequire a quarter of an hour's study, but I should say that a sum oftwo hundred and twenty thousand pounds would be required."
"I have not a head for figures," the Marquis acknowledged gravely, "butthe amount seems trifling. I shall wish you good-day now, gentlemen.Two hundred and twenty thousand, I think you said, Mr. Wadham?"
"That is as near the amount as possible," the lawyer admitted.
The Marquis drew on his gloves, a sign that he did not intend to honourhis adviser with any familiar form of farewell. He inclined his headslightly to Mr. Wadham, and more slightly still to Mr. Wadham, Junior,who was holding open the door. The small boy, who was on the alert,escorted him to the front steps, and received with delight a graciousword of thanks for his attentions. So the Marquis took his departure.
Mr. Wadham, Junior, closed the door and threw himself into the chairwhich had been occupied by their distinguished client. There was afaint perfume of lavender water remaining in the atmosphere. His eyeswandered around the further rows of tin boxes which encumbered the wall.
"I suppose," he murmured, "it's a great thing to have a Marquis forone's client."
"I suppose it is," Mr. Wadham, Senior, assented gloomily.
"Father, do you ever feel at ease with him?" his son asked curiously."Do you ever feel as though you were talking to a real human being, ofthe same flesh and blood as yourself?"
"Never for a single moment," was the vigorous reply. "If I felt likethat, John, do you know what I should do? No? Well, then, I'll tellyou. I should have those tin boxes taken out, one by one, and stackedin the hall. I should say to him, as plainly as I am saying it toyou--'We lose money every year by your business, Marquis. We've hadour turn. Try some one else--and go to the Devil!'"
"But you couldn't do it!" Mr. Wadham, Junior, observed disconsolately.
"I couldn't," his father agreed, with a note of subdued melancholy inhis tone.