man who gets through his position
what he could never have got for himself.'

'No, no, no,' she protested. 'It does mean what I say. It has made me
hate the theatre and understand why Charles ran away from it.... Only,
having forced him so far, what can I do? I have hurt him far more than
he has hurt me. He was quite happy drifting from town to town abroad,
and it was the life I had been brought up to, because my grandfather
ran away from England, too. It wouldn't have mattered there how many
wives Charles had in England.... But I wanted to see for myself, and I
didn't want him to be wasted.... I can see perfectly well that Sir
Henry wants if possible to discredit him and to prove that his ideas
won't work.... We've all been very silly. These people are too clever
for us. He's got your money and Charles's genius, and neither of you
can raise a finger.'

Verschoyle looked rueful. He could not deny it.

'It's that damned old Bracebridge,' he said. 'She doesn't care a
twopenny curse for art or for the public. She and her lot want any
money that is floating loose and the whole social game in London has
become a three-card trick in their hands. The theatre and newspapers
are just the sharper's patter.'

Clara writhed.

'You can't do anything but go on,' he said. 'You are bound to get your
success and they can't deny that. The old man knows that. Hence the
trick to get you away from Charles.... If you succeed you'll pull
Charles through, and--we can buy off anybody who wants to make trouble.
I'll buy the Bracebridges, if necessary. I'm not particularly proud of
my money. It comes from land for which I do absolutely nothing, but
it's better than Fleischmann money which is got by the trickery of a
lottery.'

'She's a horrible old woman,' said Clara.

'She intends that I shall marry her hen-brain of a daughter.... If the
worst came to the worst, my dear, you could marry me.'

Clara was enraged. It infuriated her that he, of all people, whom she
had so entirely trusted, should so far forget himself as to propose so
trite and sentimental a solution. He could not help teasing her.

'It would save me, too,' he said. 'And as Lady Verschoyle you could
give these people a Roland for their Oliver every time.'

'But I want to ignore them,' she said. 'Why won't you see that I don't
want to win with my personality but with my art. That should be the
irresistible thing.'

'It would be if they resiste