“Is there a Lady Bland-Potterton?” said Gorman. “I didn’t know.”
“I’m not married,” said Sir Bartholomew. “When I speak of my position—I mean my position as a member of the Government——”
“Madame has immense influence with the king,” said Gorman.
“Yes. Yes. But the woman—the—er—lady has no recognised status. She——”
“Just at present,” said Gorman, “she is tremendously keen on emeralds. She has got a new evening dress from Emile and there’s nothing she wants more than an emerald pendant to wear with it. I’m sure she’d do her best to persuade the king to go back to Megalia if——”
“But I don’t think—” said Sir Bartholomew. “Really, Mr. Gorman——”
“I’m not suggesting that you should pay for it yourself,” said Gorman. “Charge it up against the Civil List or the Secret Service Fund, or work it in under ‘Advances to our Allies.’ There must be some way of doing it, and I really think it’s your best chance.”
Sir Bartholomew talked for nearly an hour. He explained several times that it was totally impossible for him to negotiate with Madame Ypsilante. The idea of bribing her with an emerald pendant shocked him profoundly. But he was bent on getting King Konrad Karl to go back to Megalia. That seemed to him a matter of supreme importance for England, for Europe and the world. In the end, after a great deal of consultation, a plan suggested itself. Madame should have her emeralds sent to her anonymously. Gorman undertook to explain to her that she was expected, by way of payment for the emeralds, to persuade the king to go back to Megalia and once more occupy the throne. Sir Bartholomew Bland-Potterton would appear at the last moment as the accredited representative of the Allied Governments, and formally lay before the king the proposal for the immediate mobilisation of the Megallian Army.
“I shall have a lot of work and worry,” said Gorman, “and I’m not asking anything for myself; but if the thing comes off——”
“You can command the gratitude of the Cabinet,” said Sir Bartholomew, “and anything they can do for you—an O.B.E., now, or even a knighthood———”