Gurdy walked down the stairs into the drawing room. A burly man in a furred coat was standing by the Siennese cabinet running a thumb over the smooth panel of its little door. The light made his grey hair glisten slickly. He turned a broad, pleasing face on Gurdy and nodded.
“Sorry to get ’round here so late at night. Pretty important I should see Mr. Walling right away.”
“That’s absolutely impossible. He’s ill and in bed. I’m—”
“Oh ... you’re his nephew, ain’t you? Mister—Bernamer?”
“Yes.”
The man nodded and undid his coat. He wore a dinner jacket with a fluted shirt. Gay stones were blue in the soft pleats of the bosom. He stated, “I’m from Miss Boyle—legal representative. You tell Mr. Walling that Miss Boyle’s willing to not bring an action against Miss Walling—Understand what I mean?”
“Yes.”
The lawyer continued his air of genial discretion, getting a paper from some pocket. “Miss Boyle’s willing to overlook this business in Philadelphia and not sue her husban’ or Miss Walling provided that this play’s brought into New York by New Year’s Day and Mr. Rand is featured—name in electric lights and so on. Soon as the play’s opened in New York she’ll live with her husban’ again. Condonation, see? And—”
“Blackmail,” said Gurdy.
The genial man went on, “I’ve got a memorandum, here. All Mr. Walling’s got to do is sign it. I’ll read it. N’York City, November eighteenth, nineteen hundred nineteen. My dear Miss Boyle, In pursuance of our agreement I promise you that ‘Todgers Intrudes’ will be presented in New York City before January first, nineteen twenty and that Mr. Rand will be featured in the usual manner. Yours very truly.—All he has to do is to put his name to that and there you are.”