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Read Ebook: Mrs. Dot: A Farce by Maugham W Somerset William Somerset
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Ebook has 1828 lines and 18453 words, and 37 pages
MRS. DOT
THE FIRST ACT
CHARLES.
There, you can see for yourself that Mr. Halstane is not at home.
MR. WRIGHT.
Very well, I'll wait for him.
CHARLES.
You'll have to wait till midnight, because I don't expect him in.
MR. WRIGHT.
Last time I came you said he'd be back in half an hour, and when I returned you said he'd just gone out. You don't catch me napping a second time.
CHARLES.
The governor don't take impertinence lying down, Mr. Wright, and he'll look upon it as a great liberty your dunning him in this way.
MR. WRIGHT.
I don't know about taking impertinence, but he'll have to take a summons if my account is not settled at once.
Make yourself quite at home, won't you?
MR. WRIGHT.
Thank you. I will.
Is Mr. Halstane in?
CHARLES.
No, sir. He's gone to his club.
Well, I'll ring him up. I must see him on a matter of the very greatest importance. You're on the telephone, aren't you?
CHARLES.
Yes, sir. But there's a person waiting to see him.
Oh, never mind.
Mr. Rixon. Don't you remember me, sir? I'm the junior partner in Andrews and Wright.
Of course I do. I saw your father on business the other day. Where's the telephone book?
CHARLES.
I'll just go and fetch it, sir. Mr. Halstane lent it to the gentleman upstairs.
Be as quick as you can.
What are you doing here?
MR. WRIGHT.
Well, the fact is, we've got a very large account with Halstane, and I'm told he's in queer street. I want to get the money before the crash comes.
Queer street? The man's just come into seven thousand a year.
MR. WRIGHT.
What!
That's why I'm running all over the place to find him. You know he's a relation of the Hollingtons. I was at her ladyship's not half an hour ago--the Dowager, you know--my firm has acted for the whole family for the last hundred years. Well, I'd hardly arrived before a message came from the War Office to say that her grandson, the present lord, had been killed in India. So as soon as I could, I bolted round here. Mr. Halstane is the next heir, and he comes into seven thousand a year and the title.
MR. WRIGHT.
My gracious, that's a piece of luck.
I don't mind telling you now that he'd pretty well come to the end of his tether. Your money was all right because he'd have paid everything up, but he wouldn't have had much left.
MR. WRIGHT.
Of course he doesn't know anything about this yet?
Not a word. For all he knows, he's a ruined man, and here am I trying to get him on the telephone to tell him he's come into a peerage and a very handsome income.
I don't know what these tradespeople are coming to when they expect gentlemen to pay their bills.
Pray don't let us disturb you. I shall never forgive myself if I think I've interrupted your nap.
CHARLES.
Shall I take your hat, sir?
GERALD.
It's very kind of you. I shouldn't like you to put yourself out.
FREDDIE.
CHARLES.
Mr. Rixon has just been, sir. He's gone on to the club.
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