‘Mr. Atlee,’ said the other grimly, ‘let me remind you once again, that the habit of light jesting—persiflage—is so essentially Irish, you should keep it for your countrymen; and if you persist in supposing the career of a private secretary suits you, this is an incongruity that will totally unfit you for the walk.’
‘I am sure you know your countrymen, sir, and I am grateful for the rebuke.’
Walpole’s cheek flushed at this, and it was plain that there was a hidden meaning in the words which he felt, and resented.
‘I do not know,’ continued Walpole, ‘if I am not asking you to curb one of the strongest impulses of your disposition; but it rests entirely with yourself whether my counsel be worth following.’
‘Of course it is, sir. I shall follow your advice to the letter, and keep all my good spirits and my bad manners for my countrymen.’
It was evident that Walpole had to exercise some strong self-control not to reply sharply; but he refrained, and turned once more to Lord Danesbury’s letter, in which he was soon deeply occupied. At last he said: ‘His Excellency wants to send me out to Turkey to confer with a man with whom he has some confidential relations. It is quite impossible that, in my present state of health, I could do this. Would the thing suit you, Atlee—that is, if, on consideration, I should opine that you would suit it?’
‘I suspect,’ replied Atlee, but with every deference in his manner, ‘if you would entertain the last part of the contingency first, it would be more convenient to each of us. I mean whether I were fit for the situation.’
‘Well, perhaps so,’ said the other carelessly; ‘it is not at all impossible, it may be one of the things you would acquit yourself well in. It is a sort of exercise for tact and discretion—an occasion in which that light hand of yours would have a field for employment, and that acute skill in which I know you pride yourself as regards reading character—’
‘You have certainly piqued my curiosity,’ said Atlee.
‘I don’t know that I ought to have said so much; for, after all, it remains to be seen whether Lord Danesbury would estimate these gifts of yours as highly as I do. What I think of doing is this: I shall send you over to his Excellency in your capacity as my own private secretary, to explain how unfit I am in my present disabled condition to undertake a journey. I shall tell my lord how useful I have found your services with regard to Ireland, how much you know of the country and the people, and how worthy of trust I have found your information and your opinions; and I shall hint—but only hint, remember—that, for the mission he speaks of, he might possibly do worse than fix upon yourself. As, of course, it rests with him to be like-minded with me or not upon this matter—to take, in fact, his own estimate of Mr. Atlee from his own experiences of him—you are not to know anything whatever of this project till his Excellency thinks proper to open it to you. You understand that?’