“Right. I don’t like it—I’ll tell ye why in a shake. But go on.”
“Point Two, the Amalgamation: we have both agreed to support it—I, of course, on my father’s behalf—but on one condition. Point Three, Yourself: your billet is fixed. You go on the permanent staff. Start at fifteen hundred—I’ll get seventeen-fifty for you when it comes to the point. Rises after that by agreement. As for those plans and gadgets in my cabin, there’s nothing said yet. Nothing can safely be said of them till the amalgamation’s completed. But you stand in with me there. You’ll have to trust me.... Satisfied?”
“Yes,” said Aggett, “though I fancied two thousand.... But what about Point Two and that condition? You skidded over that, sonny.”
Ordith laughed—perhaps with embarrassment. “Simply a—er—personal matter,” he said, and stopped.
Aggett glanced sidelong without moving his head, and winked. “What’s up with ye, Ordith? Think I don’t know? Stammering lover, eh? The part don’t suit ye.... Bo-oy! Couple o’ cocktails.... Yes, you son of a ——, two piece, two peecee! Chop chop!” He held up two fingers at the blinking Chinese waiter. Then to Ordith: “That’s to celebrate.”
Ordith smiled. It wasn’t worth while to get angry with Aggett. “It was rather odd,” he said, “I didn’t care to be too direct about the—about my personal point. It’s devilish difficult to introduce your own marriage into a business discussion without making it sound too business-like. Oh yes, you may grin. It’s damned easy for you to be cynical at long range.... But to me, although you may choose to think otherwise, and although I may at times have given you reason to think otherwise, to me this marriage is something more than a business proposition. I nearly left it out for decency’s sake; very nearly decided to take my chance without preliminary safeguards.”
“But you didn’t leave it out, after all,” said Aggett drily.
“No, Aggett; as you observe, with such sympathetic understanding of my character, I didn’t, after all. You never know; the most callous father may be touched by sentiment and drive a hellish hard bargain at the last moment. Then I should have looked a pretty fool. Besides——”
“Besides, I’ve always read in the pretty story-books that all the best brought up young gents approached the parents first. So you’re in good company.” Aggett drained his glass and shouted for more cocktails. “Drink up, ol’ man, and come to the point.”