“Glad to see you and all that, Slattery,” he said, “but I never thought of you as being on the official side of anything. I thought you’d absolutely chucked the service some years ago.”
“I’m on a special mission,” Grant explained. “They’ve sent me over to see one or two people here and especially Lord Yeovil. I’m going back on Saturday.”
“We shall all be fellow passengers then,” Lymane observed. “Do you think America will be able to stand the troupe6 of us? Because we’re all coming—even bringing our own little typists this time.”
“Is Lady Susan—” Grant began hesitatingly.
“Yes, Lady Susan’s coming along.”
“She’s all right, I suppose,” Grant enquired7. “I don’t seem to have heard anything of her for some time.”
“In the pink. She’s been doing the honours for her father this season and doing them wonderfully, too.”
“Engaged yet?” Grant ventured with a ridiculous affectation of carelessness.
“Nothing announced,” was the cautious reply. “There are three or four of them running neck and neck. Bobby Lancaster’s fallen behind a bit, although he’s as keen as ever. Lord Glentarne’s chief favourite for the moment, and there are a lot of rumours8 going about that Buckingham Palace has its eye on her. No matrimonial news about you, I suppose, Slattery?”
“None.”
A little bell rang, and Grant was ushered9 into the presence of the man who, a few months ago, notwithstanding the difference in their ages, had been his most intimate friend. From the moment of his entrance, however, he understood that those days were past. Lord Yeovil was courteous10, even friendly. Nevertheless the change in his demeanour would have been apparent to a man of fewer perceptions than Grant.
“Very glad to see you again, Slattery,” the Prime Minister said, motioning him to a seat. “It seems a long time since we used to sit cudgelling our brains about those bridge problems.”
“History is giving us something much more serious with which to occupy ourselves, sir,” Grant replied. “All the things which you and I used to speak about in those days are coming to pass.”
Lord Yeovil nodded.
“This time, I gather, you come to me officially.”
“That is true, sir. I am the bearer of a message and representations from my Government to yours. May I beg for your serious attention?”
“By all means,” the Prime Minister acquiesced11. “My car is ordered for seven o’clock. Till then I am at your service. I will just give Arthur a few messages and leave word that we are not to be disturbed.”
Until a quarter to seven Lord Yeovil was an attentive12 listener. When his visitor had at last finished, he was looking very grave.
“I have always felt a premonition of something of this sort,” he confided13. “My invitation to the States was practically founded upon it. But I must confess I had no idea that things were so imminent14. Nor even at the present moment is it quite clear to me how Germany and Japan propose to work this thing.”
“There is a great deal that we have to discover yet, sir,” Grant declared. “We’re reconstructing the scheme more thoroughly15, day by day, but, from the facts we have, it seems as though the central idea is that the Japanese fleet, which we have reason to believe is much larger than it should be, will approach the west coast of America at exactly the same time that the German fleet approaches the east coast,—the German fleet, by the way, augmented16, without a doubt, by the Russian. We in America, as you know, sir, being the instigators of the Limitation of Armaments, have been most scrupulous17 in keeping zealously18 to our official tonnage in every class of battleship, and the consequence seems to be that the American fleet, even if it could meet either of these others undivided, would be greatly inferior in numbers, and the idea of dividing it to meet these two opposing forces simultaneously19 would be simply to court disaster.”
“This, of course, is all supposition,” Lord Yeovil observed.
“Founded upon a certain amount of proof, which I shall presently produce,” Grant went on. “The most urgent matter, however, which I was begged to discuss with you, sir, was the attitude of certain portions of the American Press towards yourself and this country. I shall offer you presently an explanation of that attitude and I am to beg you most sincerely, in the name of the President and the Government, to use your influence with the Press of your own country to avoid, so far as possible, recrimination and reprisal20.”
“It is true, I suppose,” Lord Yeovil enquired, “that the New York is no longer conducted in the interests of your Government?”
“The New York,” Grant replied, “has been purchased by Cornelius Blunn, and is the most dangerous organ in the States to-day.”
The Prime Minister glanced at his watch.
“I fear that, for the present, we must postpone21 our discussion,” he announced. “It has been a great pleasure to see you again, Slattery, and to receive you in an official capacity. No one could have been more welcome—as a representative of your people.”
Grant felt a sudden chill. He took his courage into both hands, however.
“I fear, sir,” he ventured, “that I seem to have forfeited22 in your eyes the position of which I was once very proud—the position of being a friend of your household.”
Lord Yeovil hesitated. The young man’s directness was almost disconcerting.
“I would not say that,” he rejoined, a little more kindly23. “I am naturally a man of the world, and I am not a hard judge of any man’s actions. This is a matter, however, which, if you choose, we will discuss at another time.”
Grant rose to leave. There was again a very perceptible hesitation24 on his host’s part.
“To-night,” he said, “I am giving a reception at Yeovil House, a sort of farewell before I leave for Washington. Most of the diplomatic people will be present. If you care to attend, it will give me great pleasure to see that you have a card. You are staying at the Embassy?”
“At Claridge’s.”
“You will have a card within an hour.”
Grant once more summoned all his courage.
“Shall I have the pleasure of meeting Lady Susan?” he asked.
“My daughter has made her debut26 this season as a political hostess,” was the polite but somewhat cold reply. “She will be assisting me to-night.”
It was gone, then, the old cordiality, the easy terms of familiarity on which Grant had stood in the household. Lord Yeovil had become to him—as he was to most of the world—a courteous and polished diplomat25, kindly and gracious in words and demeanour, but a person who seemed almost outside the amenities27 of life. And, if the change was so noticeable in him, what had he to expect from Susan?
He was in a somewhat depressed28 frame of mind when he called in at Carlton White’s, selected the most beautiful roses he could find, and sent them to Yeovil House. Afterwards he went back to the Embassy and was kept there until eight o’clock. There were many questions raised over the despatches he had brought, which were full of vital interest to various members of the staff. Grant could not help contrasting the atmosphere here and the atmosphere in Washington. Geographically29 the two were not so far apart. The Press, cables, wireless30, rapid travel had, in the language of the journalists, brought the two hemispheres side by side, and yet there was an extraordinary difference in outlook, in political perspective. Things which in Washington seemed far away, phantasmal, hatched in the brain of the alarmist, inconceivable in near life, here assumed a different appearance. Here, at any rate, it was realised that Europe had become once more a huge whispering gallery of intrigue31, that the curtain might at any moment be raised once more upon the great drama of war and bloodshed. Facts were the same in both capitals. The atmosphere alone was different. The incredible in one place was the grimly possible in the other.
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1
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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entree
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| n.入场权，进入权 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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troupe
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| n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团 | |
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7
enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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8
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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13
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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14
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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16
Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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17
scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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zealously
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| adv.热心地；热情地；积极地；狂热地 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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reprisal
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| n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠 | |
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postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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forfeited
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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diplomat
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| n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人 | |
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debut
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| n.首次演出，初次露面 | |
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amenities
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| n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快 | |
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28
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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29
geographically
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| adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面 | |
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30
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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