BLACKBOROUGH. O'Connell?
FARRANT. Thank God. [_He turns enthusiastically to_ TREBELL _who stands
rigid_.] My dear fellow . . I hope you know how glad I am.
CANTELUPE. I am very glad.
BLACKBOROUGH. Of course we're all very glad indeed, Trebell . . very
glad we persuaded him.
FARRANT. That's dead and buried now, isn't it?
TREBELL _moves away from them all and leaves them wondering. When he
turns round his face is as hard as ever; his voice, if possible,
harder._
TREBELL. But, Horsham, returning to the more important question . .
you've taken trouble, and O'Connell's to perjure himself for nothing if
you still can't get me into your child's puzzle . . to make the pretty
picture that a Cabinet should be.
HORSHAM _looks at_ BLACKBOROUGH _and scents danger_.
HORSHAM. We shall all be glad, I am sure, to postpone any further
discussion. . .
TREBELL. I shall not.
BLACKBOROUGH. [_Encouragingly._] Quite so, Trebell. We're on the
subject, and it won't discount our pleasure that you're out of this
mess, to continue it. This habit of putting off the hour of disagreement
is . . well, Horsham, it's contrary to my business instincts.
TREBELL. If one time's as good as another for you . . this moment is
better than most for me.
HORSHAM. [_A little irritated at the wantonness of this dispute._] There
is nothing before us on which we are capable of coming to any decision . .
in a technical sense.
BLACKBOROUGH. That's a quibble. [_Poor_ HORSHAM _gasps_.] I'm not going
to pretend either now or in a month's time that I think Trebell anything
but a most dangerous acquisition to the party. I pay you a compliment in
that, Trebell. Now, Horsham proposes that we should go to the country
when Disestablishment's through.
HORSHAM. It's the condition of Nonconformist support.
BLACKBOROUGH. One condition. Then you'd leave us, Trebell?
HORSHAM. I hope not.
BLACKBOROUGH. And carry with you the credit of our one big measure.
Consider the effect upon our reputation with the Country.
FARRANT. [_Waking to_ BLACKBOROUGH'S _line of action_.] Why on earth
should you leave us, Trebell? You've hardly been a Liberal, even in
name.
BLACKBOROUGH. [_Vigorously making his point._] Then what would be the
conditions of your remaining? You're not a party man, Trebell. You
haven't the true party feeling. You are to be bought. Of course you take
your price in measures, not in money. But you are preeminently a man of
ideas . . an expert. And a man of ideas is often a grave embarrassment
to a government.
HORSHAM. And vice-versa . . vice-versa!
TREBELL. [_Facing_ BLACKBOROUGH _across the room_.] Do I understand that
you for the good of the Tory party . . just as Cantelupe for the good of
his soul . . will refuse to sit in a cabinet with me.
BLACKBOROUGH. [_Unembarrassed._] I don't commit myself to saying that.
CANTELUPE. No, Trebell . . it's that I must believe your work could not
prosper . . in God's way.
TREBELL _softens to his sincerity_.
TREBELL. Cantelupe, I quite understand. You may be right . . it's a very
interesting question. Blackborough, I take it that you object first of
all to the scheme that I'm bringing you.
BLACKBOROUGH. I object to those parts of it which I don't think you'll
get through the House.
FARRANT. [_Feeling that he must take part._] For instance?
BLACKBOROUGH. I've given you one already.
CANTELUPE. [_His eye on_ BLACKBOROUGH.] Understand there are things in
that scheme we must stand or fall by.
_Suddenly_ TREBELL _makes for the door_. HORSHAM _gets up concernedly_.
TREBELL. Horsham, make up your mind to-night whether you can do with me
or not. I have to see Percival again to-morrow . . we cut short our
argument at the important point. Good-bye . . don't come down. Will you
decide to-night?
HORSHAM. I have made up my own mind.
TREBELL. Is that sufficient?
HORSHAM. A collective decision is a matter of development.
TREBELL. Well, I shall expect to hear.
HORSHAM. By hurrying one only reaches a rash conclusion.
TREBELL. Then be rash for once and take the consequences. Good-night.
_He is gone before_ HORSHAM _can compose another epigram_.
BLACKBOROUGH. [_Deprecating such conduct._] Lost his temper!
FARRANT. [_Ruffling considerably._] Horsham, if Trebell is to be hounded
out of your cabinet . . he won't go alone.
HORSHAM. [_Bitter-sweet._] My dear Farrant . . I have yet to form my
cabinet.
CANTELUPE. You are forming it to carry disestablishment, are you not,
Cyril? Therefore you will form it in the best interests of the best
scheme possible.
HORSHAM. Trebell was and is the best man I know of for the purpose. I'm
a little weary of saying that.
_He folds his arms and awaits further developments. After a moment_
CANTELUPE _gets up as if to address a meeting_.
CANTELUPE. Then if you would prefer not to include me . . I shall feel
justified in giving independent support to a scheme I have great faith
in. [_And he sits down again._]
BLACKBOROUGH. [_Impatiently._] My dear Cantelupe, if you think Horsham
can form a disestablishment cabinet to include Trebell and exclude you,
you're vastly mistaken. I for one . . .
FARRANT. But do both of you consider how valuable, how vital Trebell is
to us just at this moment? The Radicals trust him. . .
BLACKBOROUGH. They hate him.
HORSHAM. [_Elucidating._] Their front bench hates him because he turned
them out. The rest of them hate their front bench. After six years of
office, who wouldn't?
BLACKBOROUGH. That's true.
FARRANT. Oh, of course, we must stick to Trebell, Blackborough.
BLACKBOROUGH _is silent; so_ HORSHAM _turns his attention to his
cousin_.
HORSHAM. Well, Charles, I won't ask you for a decision now. I know how
hard it is to accept the dictates of other men's consciences . . but a
necessary condition of all political work; believe me.
CANTELUPE. [_Uneasily._] You can form your cabinet without me, Cyril.
_At this_ BLACKBOROUGH _charges down on them, so to speak_.
BLACKBOROUGH. No, I tell you, I'm damned if he can. Leaving the whole
high church party to blackmail all they can out of us and vote how they
like! Here . . I've got my Yorkshire people to think of. I can bargain
for them with you in a cabinet . . not if you've the pull of being out
of it.
HORSHAM. [_With charming insinuation._] And have you calculated,
Blackborough, what may become of us if Trebell has the pull of being out
of it?
BLACKBOROUGH _makes a face_.
BLACKBOROUGH. Yes . . I suppose he might turn nasty.
FARRANT. I should hope he would.
BLACKBOROUGH. [_Tackling_ FARRANT _with great ease_.] I should hope he
would consider the matter not from the personal, but from the political
point of view . . as I am trying to do.
HORSHAM. [_Tasting his epigram with enjoyment._] Introspection is the
only bar to such an honourable endeavour, [BLACKBOROUGH _gapes_.] You
don't suffer from that as--for instance--Charles here, does.
BLACKBOROUGH. [_Pugnaciously._] D'you mean I'm just pretending not to
attack him personally?
HORSHAM. [_Safe on his own ground._] It's only a curious metaphysical
point. Have you never noticed your distaste for the colour of a man's
hair translate itself ultimately into an objection to his religious
opinions . . or what not? I am sure--for instance--I could trace
Charles's scruples about sitting in a cabinet with Trebell back to a
sort of academic reverence for women generally which he possesses. I am
sure I could . . if he were not probably now doing it himself. But this
does not make the scruples less real, less religious, or less political.
We must be humanly biased in expression . . or not express ourselves.
BLACKBOROUGH. [_Whose thoughts have wandered._] The man's less of a
danger than he was . . I mean he'll be alone. The Liberals won't have
him back. He smashed his following there to come over to us.
FARRANT. [_Giving a further meaning to this._] Yes, Blackborough, he
did.
BLACKBOROUGH. To gain his own ends! Oh, my dear Horsham, can't you see
that if O'Connell had blabbed to-morrow it really would have been a
blessing in disguise? I don't pretend to Cantelupe's standard . . but
there must be something radically wrong with a man who could get
himself into such a mess as that . . now mustn't there? Ah! . . you have
a fatal partiality for clever people. I tell you . . though this might
be patched up . . Trebell would fail us in some other way before we were
six months older.
_This speech has its effect; but_ HORSHAM _looks at him a little
sternly_.
HORSHAM. And am I to conclude that you don't want Charles to change his
mind?
BLACKBOROUGH. [_On another tack._] Farrant has not yet allowed us to
hear Percival's opinion.
FARRANT _looks rather alarmed_.
FARRANT. It has very little reference to the scandal.
BLACKBOROUGH. As that is at an end . . all the more reason we should
hear it.
HORSHAM. [_Ranging himself with_ FARRANT.] I called this quite informal
meeting, Blackborough, only to dispose of the scandal, if possible.
BLACKBOROUGH. Well, of course, if Farrant chooses to insult Percival so
gratuitously by burking his message to us . .
_There is an unspoken threat in this._ HORSHAM _sees it and without
disguising his irritation_. . .
HORSHAM. Let us have it, Farrant.
FARRANT. [_With a sort of puzzled discontent._] Well . . I never got to
telling him of the O'Connell affair at all. He started talking to me . .
saying that he couldn't for a moment agree to Trebell's proposals for
the finance of his bill . . I couldn't get a word in edgeways. Then his
wife came up. . .
HORSHAM _takes something in this so seriously that he actually
interrupts_.
HORSHAM. Does he definitely disagree? What is his point?
FARRANT. He says Disestablishment's a bad enough speculation for the
party as it is.
BLACKBOROUGH. It is inevitable.
FARRANT. He sees that. But then he says . . to go to the country again
having bolstered up Education and quarrelled with everybody will be bad
enough . . to go having spent fifty millions on it will dish us all for
our lifetimes.
HORSHAM. What does he propose?
FARRANT. He'll offer to draft another bill and take it through himself.
He says . . do as many good turns as we can with the money . . don't put
it all on one horse.
BLACKBOROUGH. He's your man, Horsham. That's one difficulty settled.
HORSHAM'S _thoughts are evidently beyond_ BLACKBOROUGH, _beyond the
absent_ PERCIVAL _even_.
HORSHAM. Oh . . any of us could carry that sort of a bill.
CANTELUPE _has heard this last passage with nothing less than horror and
pale anger, which he contains no longer_.
CANTELUPE. I won't have this. I won't have this opportunity frittered
away for party purposes.
BLACKBOROUGH. [_Expostulating reasonably._] My dear Cantelupe . . you'll
get whatever you think it right for the Church to have. You carry a
solid thirty eight votes with you.