'Rather not! Great pals. Hit it off splendidly.'
'You were his constant companion, then?'
'Absolutely. We were always together. Saw all the sights, don't you
know. We'd take in the Museum of Art in the morning, and have a bit of
lunch at some good vegetarian place, and then toddle along to a sacred
concert in the afternoon, and home to an early dinner. We usually
played dominoes after dinner. And then the early bed and the refreshing
sleep. We had a great time. I was awfully sorry when he went away to
Boston.'
'Oh! Wilmot is in Boston?'
'Yes. I ought to have let you know, but of course we didn't know where
you were. You were dodging all over the place like a snipe--I mean,
don't you know, dodging all over the place, and we couldn't get at you.
Yes, Motty went off to Boston.'
'You're sure he went to Boston?'
'Oh, absolutely.' I called out to Jeeves, who was now messing about in
the next room with forks and so forth: 'Jeeves, Lord Pershore didn't
change his mind about going to Boston, did he?'
'No, sir.'
'I thought I was right. Yes, Motty went to Boston.'
'Then how do you account, Mr Wooster, for the fact that when I went
yesterday afternoon to Blackwell's Island prison, to secure material
for my book, I saw poor, dear Wilmot there, dressed in a striped suit,
seated beside a pile of stones with a hammer in his hands?'
I tried to think of something to say, but nothing came. A fellow has
to be a lot broader about the forehead than I am to handle a jolt like
this. I strained the old bean till it creaked, but between the collar
and the hair parting nothing stirred. I was dumb. Which was lucky,
because I wouldn't have had a chance to get any persiflage out of my
system. Lady Malvern collared the conversation. She had been bottling
it up, and now it came out with a rush.
'So this is how you have looked after my poor, dear boy, Mr Wooster!
So this is how you have abused my trust! I left him in your charge,
thinking that I could rely on you to shield him from evil. He came to
you innocent, unversed in the ways of the world, confiding, unused to
the temptations of a large city, and you led him astray!'
I hadn't any remarks to make. All I could think of was the picture
of Aunt Agatha drinking all this in and reaching out to sharpen the
hatchet against my return.
'You deliberately--'
Far away in the misty distance a soft voice spoke:
'If I might explain, your ladyship.'
Jeeves had projected himself in from the dining-room and materialized
on the rug. Lady Malvern tried to freeze him with a look, but you can't
do that sort of thing to Jeeves. He is look-proof.
'I fancy, your ladyship, that you may have misunderstood Mr Wooster,
and that he may have given you the impression that he was in New York
when his lordship was--removed. When Mr Wooster informed your ladyship
that his lordship had gone to Boston, he was relying on the version
I had given him of his lordship's movements. Mr Wooster was away,
visiting a friend in the country, at the time, and knew nothing of the
matter till your ladyship informed him.'
Lady Malvern gave a kind of grunt. It didn't rattle Jeeves.
'I feared Mr Wooster might be disturbed if he knew the truth, as he is
so attached to his lordship and has taken such pains to look after him,
so I took the liberty of telling him that his lordship had gone away
for a visit. It might have been hard for Mr Wooster to believe that
his lordship had gone to prison voluntarily and from the best motives,
but your ladyship, knowing him better, will readily understand.'
'What!' Lady Malvern goggled at him. 'Did you say that Lord Pershore
went to prison voluntarily?'
'If I might explain, your ladyship. I think that your ladyship's
parting words made a deep impression on his lordship. I have frequently
heard him speak to Mr Wooster of his desire to do something to follow
your ladyship's instructions and collect material for your ladyship's
book on America. Mr Wooster will bear me out when I say that his
lordship was frequently extremely depressed at the thought that he was
doing so little to help.'
'Absolutely, by Jove! Quite pipped about it!' I said.
'The idea of making a personal examination into the prison system of
the country--from within--occurred to his lordship very suddenly one
night. He embraced it eagerly. There was no restraining him.'
Lady Malvern looked at Jeeves, then at me, then at Jeeves again. I
could see her struggling with the thing.
'Surely, your ladyship,' said Jeeves, 'it is more reasonable to suppose
that a gentleman of his lordship's character went to prison of his
own volition than that he committed some breach of the law which
necessitated his arrest?'
Lady Malvern blinked. Then she got up.
'Mr Wooster,' she said, 'I apologize. I have done you an injustice. I
should have known Wilmot better. I should have had more faith in his
pure, fine spirit.'
'Absolutely!' I said.
* * * * *
'Your breakfast is ready, sir,' said Jeeves.