'Anatole left her?' I said. 'But what about the parlourmaid?'
'Pull yourself together, Bertie. You're babbling. What do you mean?'
'Why, I understood--'
'I'll bet you never understood anything in your life.' She laid down
her empty glass. 'Well, that's done!' she said with relief. 'Thank
goodness, I'll be able to watch Tom drinking his in a few minutes.
It's the only thing that enables me to bear up. Poor old chap, he does
hate it so! But I cheer him by telling him it's going to put him in
shape for Anatole's cooking. And that, Bertie, is something worth going
into training for. A master of his art, that man. Sometimes I'm not
altogether surprised that Mrs Little made such a fuss when he went.
But, really, you know, she ought not to mix sentiment with business.
She has no right to refuse to let me have that article just because of
a private difference. Well, she jolly well can't use it anywhere else,
because it was my idea and I have witnesses to prove it. If she tries
to sell it to another paper, I'll sue her. And, talking of sewers, it's
high time Tom was here to drink his sulphur-water.'
'But look here--'
'Oh, by the way, Bertie,' said Aunt Dahlia, 'I withdraw any harsh
expressions I may have used about your man Jeeves. A most capable
feller!'
'Jeeves?'
'Yes; he attended to the negotiations. And very well he did it, too.
And he hasn't lost by it, you can bet. I saw to that. I'm grateful to
him. Why, if Tom gives up a couple of thousand now, practically without
a murmur, the imagination reels at what he'll do with Anatole cooking
regularly for him. He'll be signing cheques in his sleep.'
I got up. Aunt Dahlia pleaded with me to stick around and watch Uncle
Tom in action, claiming it to be a sight nobody should miss, but I
couldn't wait. I rushed up the hill, left a farewell note for Uncle
George, and caught the next train for London.
* * * * *
'Jeeves,' I said, when I had washed off the stains of travel, 'tell me
frankly all about it. Be as frank as Lady Bablockhythe.'
'Sir?'
'Never mind, if you've not heard of her. Tell me how you worked
this binge. The last I heard was that Anatole loved that
parlourmaid--goodness knows why!--so much that he refused to leave her.
Well, then?'
'I was somewhat baffled for a while, I must confess, sir. Then I was
materially assisted by a fortunate discovery.'
'What was that?'
'I chanced to be chatting with Mrs Travers's housemaid, sir, and,
remembering that Mrs Little was anxious to obtain a domestic of that
description, I asked her if she would consent to leave Mrs Travers and
go at an advanced wage to Mrs Little. To this she assented, and I saw
Mrs Little and arranged the matter.'
'Well? What was the fortunate discovery?'
'That the girl, in a previous situation some little time back, had
been a colleague of Anatole, sir. And Anatole, as is the too frequent
practice of these Frenchmen, had made love to her. In fact, they were,
so I understand it, sir, formally affianced until Anatole disappeared
one morning, leaving no address, and passed out of the poor girl's
life. You will readily appreciate that this discovery simplified
matters considerably. The girl no longer had any affection for Anatole,
but the prospect of being under the same roof with two young persons,
both of whom he had led to assume--'
'Great Scott! Yes, I see! It was rather like putting in a ferret to
start a rabbit.'
'The principle was much the same, sir. Anatole was out of the house
and in Mrs Travers's service within half an hour of the receipt of the
information that the young person was about to arrive. A volatile man,
sir. Like so many of these Frenchmen.'
'Jeeves,' I said, 'this is genius of a high order.'
'It is very good of you to say so, sir.'
'What did Mr Little say about it?'
'He appeared gratified, sir.'
'To go into sordid figures, did he--'
'Yes, sir. Twenty pounds. Having been fortunate in his selections at
Hurst Park on the previous Saturday.'
'My aunt told me that she--'
'Yes, sir. Most generous. Twenty-five pounds.'
'Good Lord, Jeeves! You've been coining the stuff!'
'I have added appreciably to my savings, yes, sir. Mrs Little was
good enough to present me with ten pounds for finding her such a
satisfactory housemaid. And then there was Mr Travers--'
'Uncle Thomas?'
'Yes, sir. He also behaved most handsomely, quite independently of Mrs
Travers. Another twenty-five pounds. And Mr George Travers--'
'Don't tell me that Uncle George gave you something, too! What on earth
for?'
'Well, really, sir, I do not quite understand myself. But I received a
cheque for ten pounds from him. He seemed to be under the impression
that I had been in some way responsible for your joining him at
Harrogate, sir.'