"You fully understand the position, Deedes?"
"Absolutely," I replied.
"Well, this is your first mission abroad--a secret one and most
important--so do your best, and let me see how you shape towards being a
diplomatist. Remember you have one main object to bear in mind, as I
have already told you; and further, that the strictest secrecy is
absolutely necessary."
It was the Earl of Warnham who thus spoke gravely as we stood opposite
one another in the private room of the Minister in attendance at
Osborne. Between us was a large table littered with state documents,
each of which Her Majesty had carefully investigated before appending
her firm, well-written signature. Late on the previous night I had
travelled to the Isle of Wight in response to a telegram summoning me
and my chief, who, after three rather protracted audiences of Her
Majesty during the morning, had instructed me to proceed at once to
Paris, entrusting me with a secret mission. Lord Gaysford, the Under
Secretary, would undoubtedly have gone, but as he was away in Scotland
attending some election meetings, and as time was pressing, I had, much
to my gratification, been chosen. My mission was a rather curious one,
not unconnected with Her Majesty's personal affairs, and the
instructions I had to deliver to the Marquis of Worthorpe, our
Ambassador to the French Republic, were of such a delicate nature that
if written in a formal dispatch would, the Earl feared, cause that
skilled and highly-valued diplomatist to send in his resignation.
I had therefore been chosen to put a suggestion politely to his
Excellency, and at the same time deliver the Earl's instructions with
deference, yet so firmly that they could not be disregarded. Mine was
certainly a difficult task, nevertheless in my enthusiasm at being
chosen to execute this secret mission abroad I was prepared to attempt
anything, from the settlement of the Egyptian Question to the formation
of a Quadruple Alliance.
"I shall carry out your instructions to the best of my ability," I
assured him, after he had given me various valuable hints how to act.
"Yes," the aged Minister said, slowly gathering the tails of his black
broadcloth frock coat over his arms and thrusting his hands into his
pockets, "cross from Newhaven to-night, and you can see Worthorpe at
noon to-morrow. Tell him to give you an interview alone; then explain
what I have told you. He must obtain an audience of the President some
time to-morrow."
"I shall act as discreetly as possible," I declared.
"I feel sure you will, Deedes," he exclaimed, with a look more kindly
than usual. "This mission will, I hope, lead to others, further afield,
perhaps. But remember that you were once victimised by a spy; therefore
exercise the greatest care and caution in this and all matters."
"I certainly shall," I answered, smiling; then, after the further
discussion of a point upon which I was not perfectly clear, I wished my
chief adieu.