She smiled again, and waved her hands expressively.
"Oh, they were very pretty, very nice to have; but—er—newspaper notices do not take us in. Naturally, they were paid for. Cousins arranged with the papers for all that."
"With——"
He looked at her open-mouthed, as the names of some of the papers recurred to him.
"With them all," she said. "Oh yes! You must remember we are quite behind the scenes."
"Pincocca," he said musingly. "Yes, you knew Pincocca. But he was a singing-master, and he doesn't come here now."
"Oh, Pincocca was one of many—one of very many." She giggled nervously. "How very absurd that you should suppose I meant Pincocca! You mustn't forget that Cæsar knows everybody. I'm almost glad he isn't going on the stage, for that reason. He brought such crowds to the house at one time that really we lived in a whirl. I believe—between ourselves—that this man he has gone to Berlin with is at the bottom of his throwing up his career. A financier. A Mr. McCullough. One of the greatest powers in the City. And—er—Cæsar was always wonderfully shrewd in these things. Don't say anything, but I believe McCullough wants to keep him!"
"I won't say anything," he said.
"McCullough controls millions!" she gasped. "And your father-in-law thinks, from rumours that are going about, that he's persuaded Cæsar to join him in some negotiations that he has with the German Government. Of course we mustn't breathe a word about it. Sh! What were we saying? Oh yes, I'm afraid those unfortunate reviews did you more harm than good. Nothing great in the City can be got for you, because you haven't the commercial experience, but a clerkship would be better than doing nothing. You must really think about it, Humphrey, if you can't do anything for yourself. As your father-in-law says, you are sitting down with your hands in your pockets, eating up your last few pounds." It occurred to her that a clerkship might look small beside the ease with which her son was securing a partnership in millions. "Of course," she added, "Cæsar always did have a head for finance. And—er—he's a way with him. He has aplomb—aplomb that makes him immensely valuable for negotiations with a Government. It's different for Cæsar."
Kent left her, and cursed aloud. He went the same evening to Turquand's, partly as a relief to his feelings, and partly to ask his friend's opinion of the feasibility of his obtaining journalistic work.