“Let’s hear the figure,” said Gallagher.
“What he says,” said Doyle, “is £81.”
Major Kent whistled.
“But I wouldn’t wonder,” said Doyle, “but you could get him to knock 10s. off that and say £80 10s.”
Dr. O’Grady pulled a sheet of paper towards him and began to write rapidly.
“Statue £80 10s.,” he said. “Carriage, say £1 10s. The railway companies are robbers. Expenses of erection, say £2. You’ll let us have any mortar and cement that are needed for nothing, Doyle; so we’ll only have to pay for labour. I’ll superintend the erection without charging a fee. Illuminated Address, £4. Bouquet £1 is. That’s a good deal to give for a bouquet, but I don’t think we’ll get a decent one for less. Dresses, etc., for Mary Ellen—the green stockings will have to be ordered specially, and so will come to a little money. And we may have to get that grey tweed dress which Mrs. Ford wants, just to prevent her kicking up a row. Two dresses, stockings, etc., for Mary Ellen, say £4. That will include shoes with buckles. She’ll have to wear an Irish brooch of some sort, but we’ll probably be able to borrow that. Lunch for the Vice Regal party on the day of the unveiling—there’ll be at least four of them, say five in case of accidents. That will allow for two aides de camp and a private secretary. They can’t want more. The five of us and Mr. Billing, who said he’d be back for the ceremony. That makes eleven. I suppose you could do us really well, Doyle, at 7s. 6d. a head, including drinks, and there’ll have to be three or four bottles of champagne on the sideboard, just for the look of the thing. We may not have to open more than one. Eleven times 7s. 6d. makes £4 2s. 6d. What do you mean to charge us for the printing of the posters, Gallagher?”
“I’ll say £3,” said Gallagher, “to include posters and advertisements in the paper. I’ll be losing money on it.”
“You’ll not be losing much,” said Dr. O’Grady, “but we’ll say £3. That will make—let me see——”
He added up his column of figures and then checked the result by adding them downwards.
“That comes to £100 3s. 6d.,” he said, “and we’ve not put down anything for postage. You’ll have to get your nephew to knock another 10s. off the price of the statue. After all, when he said £81, he must have been prepared to take £80, and he’ll have to cut the inscription for us without extra charge.”