"I only knew one," Leonard murmured reminiscently. "He was at Harrow and we used to call him Tubby."
"I don't see that that's going to help us," Rose remarked. "However——"
Then the door of our sitting room opened and to our surprise our host entered. He bowed to Rose and nodded to us in friendly fashion.
"Very good of you to come down here and help us along," he said, pleasantly ignoring the fact that we were being paid fifty pounds a week and our expenses to help provide his guests with entertainment. "I hope you're quite comfortable?"
We all three murmured an unqualified affirmative. The arrangements made for our comfort were indeed beyond criticism.
"You're not any relation to the Cotton who started bowling googlies for Harrow in his last term, I suppose?" the Duke queried, addressing Leonard.
Leonard modestly pleaded guilty, and our host showed his first signs of real interest.
"You'll play for the Castle this afternoon?" he begged. "We're playing the rest of the County, and they're bringing a pretty hot side. Our batting's all right but our bowling's rotten."
"I haven't played for two years," Leonard said, a little doubtfully.
"At three o'clock," the Duke announced, ignoring Leonard's hesitation. "You'll find a couple of pros down at the nets if you want a knock first. Don't give your bowling away too much, as some of the enemy are prowling around."