The tone of the command startled everybody except the gentlemen-in-waiting and Mr. Seven Sachs.  Rose Euclid gave vent to her nervous giggle.  The poet and Mr. Marrier tried to appear detached and dignified, and succeeded in appearing guiltily confused—­for which they contemned themselves.  Despite this volition, the glances of all three of them too clearly signified “This capitalist must be humoured.  He has an unlimited supply of actual cash, and therefore he has the right to be peculiar.  Moreover, we know that he is a card.” ...  And, curiously, Edward Henry himself was deriving great force of character from the simple reflection that he had indeed a lot of money, real available money, his to do utterly as he liked with it, hidden in a secret place in that very room.  “I’ll show ’em what’s what!” he privately mused.  “Celebrities or not, I’ll show ’em!  If they think they can come it over me—!”

It was, I regret to say, the state of mind of a bully.  Such is the noxious influence of excessive coin!

He reproached the greatest actress and the greatest dramatic poet for deceiving him, and quite ignored the nevertheless fairly obvious fact that he had first deceived them.

“Now then,” he began, with something of the pomposity of a chairman at a directors’ meeting, as soon as the table had been cleared and the room emptied of gentlemen-in-waiting and photographer and photographic apparatus, “let us see exactly where we stand.”

He glanced specially at Rose Euclid, who with an air of deep business acumen returned the glance.

“Yes,” she eagerly replied, as one seeking after righteousness. “Do let’s see.”

“The option must be taken up to-morrow.  Good!  That’s clear.  It came rather casual-like, but it’s now clear.  L4500 has to be paid down to buy the existing building on the land and so on....  Eh?”

“Yes.  Of course Mr. Bryany told you all that, didn’t he?” said Rose, brightly.

“Mr. Bryany did tell me,” Edward Henry admitted sternly.  “But if Mr. Bryany can make a mistake in the day of the week he might make a mistake in a few noughts at the end of a sum of money.”

Suddenly Mr. Seven Sachs startled them all by emerging from his silence with the words: 

“The figure is O.K.”

Instinctively Edward Henry waited for more; but no more came.  Mr. Seven Sachs was one of those rare and disconcerting persons who do not keep on talking after they have finished.  He resumed his tranquillity, he re-entered into his silence, with no symptom of self-consciousness, entirely cheerful and at ease.  And Edward Henry was aware of his observant and steady gaze.  Edward Henry said to himself:  “This man is expecting me to behave in a remarkable way.  Bryany has been telling him all about me, and he is waiting to see if I really am as good as my reputation.  I have just got to be as good as my reputation!” He looked up at the electric chandelier, almost with regret that it was not gas.  One cannot light one’s cigarette by twisting a hundred-pound bank-note and sticking it into an electric chandelier.  Moreover, there were some thousands of matches on the table.  Still further, he had done the cigarette-lighting trick once for all.  A first-class card must not repeat himself.