The Lady and the Lord | Page 7

easy to tell my nationality without hearing me speak, because American women were the only women who ever read the financial columns of the papers.
"I told him I was only reading out of curiosity, and I asked him what 'com.' and 'pref.' meant. He gave me quite a little lecture, and explained the whole thing; and after that I began to feel ready for the fray.
"At about twelve o'clock a telephone message came from Mr. Lewisohn, asking me to call round at his office; so I ordered out the carriage again, wondering what it meant. When I got there I was shown right in to his office, and he lost no time in coming to the point.
"He sat in his usual corner blinking at me, and he made me sit right in the sunlight that was streaming through the window. He watched my face as carefully as a cat watches a mouse, and I hoped I had not put too much powder on--I came away in rather a hurry. His first question completely took my breath away. He said:
"'Mrs. Crothers, how much money have you in your possession?'
"I suppose my face showed that I was taken by surprise, and he must have guessed the rest; for he said at once:
"'You needn't tell me. I think I know sufficient. Now, Mrs. Crothers, Lord Tipperary is a valued client of mine. I have known him since he was a boy. His father was also a client of mine, and his grandfather used to entrust his business to my father. You will perhaps admit that I have a right to be interested in his welfare.
"'Now I want you to tell me exactly what is the nature of the business that you have entered into with Lord Tipperary. He called on me this morning, and told me a little, but not enough. There is no sense in a case like this in beating about the bush. I will give you fifty pounds for your information.'
"I said: 'I will take your fifty pounds, Mr. Lewisohn, because I need it, but I would have told you the nature of the business at once if you had asked me.'
"The expression on his face changed a little, as though he didn't believe me, and were smiling inside himself; but he was too polite to let it appear on the surface; he merely bowed, and motioned to me to proceed. So I told him the same story of the shares that I had told Lord Tipperary.
"But he seemed to expect something else, and when I had finished he sat with his eyebrows raised a little, waiting for me to continue.
"When I said nothing, he asked me: 'And the name of the shares?'
"I said: 'No, Mr. Lewisohn, that was not in the bargain. If I tell you the name of the shares, the secret will be out!'
"He said: 'Madam, it was distinctly in the bargain. I must insist on knowing the name of the shares. So far as the secret is concerned, there is no safer depository for a secret of any kind than within the four walls of a lawyer's private office. I can assure you--in fact, I promise you faithfully--that what you may tell me will remain an absolute secret.'
"'But even Lord Tipperary doesn't know,' I objected.
"'I am aware of that, madam. In fact, that is precisely why I insist on knowing myself.'
"He pulled a lovely crinkly Bank of England note for fifty pounds out of his waistcoat pocket, and made it crackle absent mindedly between his fingers; and all at once I blurted out that the shares were called National Zinc Amalgamation, Common.
"He passed me over the fifty pounds at once; and I think I never saw a man look so utterly surprised in all my life.
"He said: 'Madam, I have to apologize. We are all liable to make mistakes, and I have made one. Your secret is, of course, safe in my keeping; and in return for it I will tell you one of mine. I am myself a heavy buyer of National Zinc, Common, and I believe it will eventually reach par or somewhere near it.
"'I made the great mistake of supposing that you were an adventuress, and that you were trying to work off some worthless securities on my client. Believe me, such a thing is quite common, and in every case that has come under my notice it has been done through the agency of a woman. I suppose your idea is to take the shares off the market, and hold for a rise?'
"I hadn't the least idea what he meant by taking them off the market, but I know that poor old Amos lost all his money by speculating on margin--whatever that means. So I told him that I had a horror