Fitz. Terms! I have insured to myself the unbroken enjoyment of your desirable society for six weeks, and believe me, when I say that if I had been acquainted with the inexpressible charms of the most fascinating woman that ever shed a light upon the private detective’s thorny path, I wouldn’t have undertaken the job, no, not even for a lifetime of your society!
Enter Mrs. Van Brugh.
Mrs. V. B. Good morning, Mr. Smailey. I am sorry to have kept you waiting. (Aside) That absurd little man with him again. (Aloud) Good morning, Mr.——
Fitz. Fitz Partington.
Mrs. V. B. Fitz Partington, of course.
Fitz. (aside). She might remember my name. I can’t conceive any circumstances under which I could forget hers!
Mr. S. Mr. Fitz Partington is entirely in my confidence. I brought him, because I believed that his familiarity with legal forms might assist us in our interview. You can speak without reserve before Mr. Fitz Partington. (Aside to Fitz.) A lie, sir! Another lie, from first to last!
Mrs. V. B. I suppose the facts will come before Mr. Fitz Partington when they are decided on. The steps by which they are arrived at will only bore him. I’m sure Mr. Partington won’t be angry with me, when I ask him to amuse himself in the next room until preliminaries are arranged.
Fitz. Mrs. Van Brugh, I have made it a part of my moral code to step without hesitation into any apartment you may think fit to indicate.[Exit.
Mrs. V. B. Now, Mr. Smailey, about these settlements. I will tell you at once what I propose to do. My income is, as you know, a very large one—much larger than any one would suppose who judges from the quietness of my mode of life. I am an odd woman, and I spend my money in my own way. I have very many claims upon it, and, although I wish to deal handsomely with my darling Eve, I must not disappoint those who have counted upon me for some years past. To come to the point, I propose to settle my Buckinghamshire farm upon her, on the usual terms of a marriage settlement. I don’t know the technical expression—but on the usual terms.