"Damn good title, too," said Gilbert.
3
The book was published long before Gilbert's play was produced; for Sir Geoffrey Mundane had taken fright at Gilbert's play. He was afraid that it was too clever, too original, too much above their heads, and so forth. "I'd like to produce it," he said. "I'd regard it as an honour to be allowed to produce it, but the Pall Mall is a very expensive theatre to maintain and I don't mind telling you, Mr. Farlow, that I lost money on that last piece, too much money, and I must retrieve some of it. Your play is excellent ... excellent ... in fact, it's a piece of literature ... almost Greek in its form ... Greek ... yes, I think, Greek ... remarkable plays those were, weren't they? ... Have you seen this portrait of me in to-day's Daily Reflexion ... quite jolly, I think ... but it won't be popular, Mr. Farlow, and I must put on something that is likely to be popular!"
Gilbert found Sir Geoffrey's sudden changes of conversation curiously interesting, but the hint of disaster to "The Magic Casement" disturbed him too much to let his interest absorb him.
"Then you've decided not to do the play?" he said, with a throb of disappointment in his voice.
Sir Geoffrey rose at him, fixing his eye-glass, and patted him on the shoulder. "No, no," he said. "I didn't mean that. I'll produce the play gladly ... some day ... but not just at present. If you care to leave it with me...."
Gilbert wondered what he ought to say next. Sir Geoffrey might retain the play for a year or two, and then decide that he could not produce it.
"Perhaps," he said, "you'd undertake to do it within a certain time...." He wanted to add that Sir Geoffrey should undertake to pay a fine if he failed to produce the play within the "certain time," but his courage was not strong enough. He was afraid that Sir Geoffrey might be offended by the suggestion and return the play at once. He wished that he had gone to Mr. Redder, as Henry had done, and asked him to place the play for him. "Redder'd stand no humbug," he said to himself.
Sir Geoffrey murmured something about the undesirability of committing oneself, and added that Gilbert should be content to wait for a year without any legal undertaking. "Of course," he said magnanimously, "if you can place the play elsewhere, don't let me stand in your way!" but Gilbert, alarmed, hurriedly said that he would be glad to leave the play with him for the time he mentioned. "I'd like you to take the part of Rupert Westlake," he said. "I don't think any one could play it so well as you could!" and Sir Geoffrey, still responsive to flattery, smiled and said he would be delighted to create the part.
The play which he produced instead of "The Magic Casement" ran for six weeks, bringing neither profit nor honour to Sir Geoffrey, who began to lose his head, with the result that he produced another play which was a greater failure than its predecessor. Then came a revival of an old play which had a moderate amount of success, and "I'll do your play next," he said to Gilbert. "I shall certainly do your play next!"