"Good-bye, darling," said Ben. "You have never looked prettier. If you want someone really sympathetic to talk to, step in the shop downstairs and ask Mr. Harford to recommend you a good book. He's the one in tweeds."
"I was thinking of doing so," said Merrill. "I noticed him as I came in. Good-bye; I hope you'll be nicer next time."
"Good-bye, darling," said Ben. "You have never looked prettier. I think Roland the most enviable of men."
"Cat!" said Merrill, returning suddenly and flinging her arms round Ben's neck. "No, not cat--sweetest of hearts! But oh, I'm so miserable!"
She cried luxuriously for a minute and then jumped up smiling.
"This is rather a blow, your brother coming back," said Tubby Toller, looking round Ben's office with a critical eye. "It's done our little circle in. Why, he wants to be married in five minutes. Highly suspicious, I call it."
"What do you mean--suspicious?" Ben asked.
"When a fellow who's been engaged for years clamours suddenly to marry, all in a moment, it suggests that he's in danger, has lost his nerve, wants to be pulled into safety," said Tubby. "I rather fancy Master Guy has been singeing his wings."
"Oh, Tubby! how cynical you are!" said Ben. "What will you be like when you're fifty?"
"At fifty," said Tubby, "I shall be a child again. I notice a strong tendency in middle-aged men to become childish. But aren't I right about your brother?"
"And I'll tell you something more," said Tubby. "When you're married and your husband suddenly begins to give you pearl necklaces and diamond rings, look out. They're more likely to be from the guilty conscience than the loving heart."
"Oh, Tubby, shut up!" said Ben. "You're insufferable. But what is it you want? You didn't come here merely to be destructively clever, I'm sure."
"I came to look round," said Tubby. "After all, a parent may inspect his young, mayn't he? And I consider 'The Beck and Call' largely my own child. How is it doing?"
"Not so badly," said Ben. "I've just carried out an American commission that netted quite a lot."
"Thank God for America!" said Tubby. "As Canning said, or meant to, 'The New World was called in very largely to redress the bank balances of the Old.' Could you get me a lady-cook?"