“If I may say so, Alwyn, I think it is up to you to prove what you’re made of.”
Alwyn looked rather blank beneath this assault.
“Oh, but he has proved it already,” said Mildred, at once defending the beloved object. “He tries so hard; he never spares himself. You forget how he played Mercutio at that charity matinée and what splendid notices he had.”
“Yes,” said Miss Verinder, “but he must go on doing it. He must strike while the iron’s hot. He must impress himself upon the public.”
Alwyn, interposing, dolefully said that this was just what he would do if he got a chance.
“What would give you chance?”
“A play and a backer.”
“Well then, find them,” said Miss Verinder.
“My dear good lady,” said Alwyn, in a tone of distinct fretfulness. “That’s easily said. But if you knew a little more about the theatrical—”