“Ah, you should not have mentioned my unfortunate book. An old public servant is merely amusing himself in his retirement, Mr. Backhouse. You have no cause for alarm—I have studied in the school of discretion.”
“I am not alarmed. There can be no possible objection to your publishing whatever you please.”
“You are most kind,” said the old man, with a cunning smile.
“Trent is not coming tonight,” remarked Mrs. Jameson, throwing a curious little glance at her brother.
“I never thought he would. It’s not in his line.”
“Mrs. Trent, you must understand,” she went on, addressing the ex-magistrate, “has placed us all under a debt of gratitude. She has decorated the old lounge hall upstairs most beautifully, and has secured the services of the sweetest little orchestra.”
“But this is Roman magnificence.”
“Backhouse thinks the spirits should be treated with more deference,” laughed Faull.
“Surely, Mr. Backhouse—a poetic environment...”
“Pardon me. I am a simple man, and always prefer to reduce things to elemental simplicity. I raise no opposition, but I express my opinion. Nature is one thing, and art is another.”