I wondered what George would think and say if he heard that hare-brained young simpleton accusing me of looking like an actress.
"You give my words a wrong construction. I only meant to express my profound conviction that in your hands everything will be perfectly safe."
"I can only say, Mr Spencer, that I hope you're right, because when I think of some of the people whose names you have put upon this piece of paper I have my doubts. I see you have Mrs Lascelles to act Dora Egerton, who is supposed to be a young girl, and who has to both sing and dance. I should imagine that Mrs Lascelles never sang a note; her speaking voice is as hoarse as a crow's. And as for dancing, why, she must weigh I don't know what, and is well past forty."
"There's nothing else Mrs Lascelles could act."
"Nothing else she could act! Act! I'm perfectly convinced that she can't act anything."
Mr Spencer winked, which was a reprehensible habit--one of several which I was meaning to tell him I objected to.
"She'll take two rows of reserved seats."
"Indeed, is that her qualification? Then am I to take it that the qualifications of all the rest of the people whom you have down on your piece of paper are of a similar kind?"
His manner immediately became confidential; he was very fond of becoming confidential. It was a fondness which I was commencing to perceive that it might become advisable to check before it went too far. There were moments when I never knew what he was going to say. I felt that he might say anything.
"You see, between ourselves, on the strict QT, it's like this; if we want to make the show the howling success it ought to be, what we've got to do is to see that everyone in the cast represents money."