While this family strife had been in full swing, Mathilda, in the library, had been explaining to Willoughby, as tactfully as she could, that Nathaniel was not at all likely to finance his play. He was strung up after his reading, and at first he seemed hardly to understand her. Plainly, Paula had led him to suppose that her uncle's help was a foregone conclusion. He went perfectly white when the sense of what Mathilda was saying penetrated his brain, and said in a trembling voice: "Then it's all no use!"
"I'm afraid it's no use as far as Nat is concerned," Mathilda said. "It isn't his kind of play. But he isn't the only potential backer in the world, you know."
He shook his head. "I don't know any rich people. Why won't he back it? Why shouldn't p-people like me be g-given a chance? It isn't fair! People with money - people who don't care for anything but -"
"I think you'd be far better advised to send your play to some producer in the usual way," said Mathilda, in a bracing voice calculated to check hysteria.
"They're all afraid of it!" he said. "They say it hasn't got box-office appeal. But I know - I know it's a good play! I've - I've sweated blood over it! I can't give it up like this! It means so much to me! You don't know what it means to me, Miss Clare!"
She began gently to suggest that he had it in him to write other plays, plays with the desired box-office appeal, but he interrupted her, saying violently that he would rather starve than write the sort of play she meant. Mathilda began to feel a little impatient, and was quite glad to see Paula stride into the room.
"Paula!" said Roydon despairingly, "is it true, what Miss Clare says? Is he going to refuse to put up the money?"
Paula was flushed and bright-eyed, stimulated by her quarrel with Nathaniel. She said: "I've just told him what I think of him! I told him -"
"Well, we don't want you to tell us," said Mathilda, losing patience. "You ought to have known that there wasn't a hope!"
Paula's gaze flickered to her face. "I shall get the money. I always get what I want, always! And I want this more than I've ever wanted anything in my life!"