"Oh, there are precedents. It was done in the Bearsdale case."
"There was a doubt there." Lady Evenswood knew all about the Bearsdale case; though it was ancient history to Southend, she had danced with both the parties to it.
"The House was against the marriage unanimously." But he did not deny the doubt.
"Well, what are you going to do?" she asked.
"It would be necessary to approach Disney." Southend spoke with some appearance of timidity. Mr Disney was Prime Minister. "And the truth is, none of us seemed to like the job. So John Fullcombe suggested you."
"What brave men you are!" Her face wrinkled humorously.
"Well, he might bite us, and he couldn't bite you—not so hard anyhow."
"And you want me to ask for a higher rank! That wasn't done in the Bearsdale case, nor in any other that I ever heard of."
"We shouldn't press that. A barony would do. But if Disney thought that under the very exceptional circumstances a viscounty——"