He had dismissed
his electric brougham earlier in the evening. "I doubt if even Master
Seven Sachs himself wouldn't be proud of my little scheme in Eaton
Square!" said he.... "Wilkins's Hotel, please, driver."
PART II
CHAPTER VII
CORNER-STONE
I
On a morning in spring Edward Henry got out of an express at Euston
which had come, not from the Five Towns, but from Birmingham. Having
on the previous day been called to Birmingham on local and profitable
business, he had found it convenient to spend the night there
and telegraph home that London had summoned him. It was in this
unostentatious, this half-furtive fashion, that his visits to London
now usually occurred. Not that he was afraid of his wife! Not that he
was afraid even of his mother! Oh, no! He was merely rather afraid of
himself--of his own opinion concerning the metropolitan, non-local,
speculative and perhaps unprofitable business to which he was
committed. The fact was that he could scarcely look his women in
the face when he mentioned London. He spoke vaguely of "real estate"
enterprise, and left it at that. The women made no inquiries; they too
left it at that. Nevertheless ...!
The episode of Wilkins's was buried, but it was imperfectly buried.
The Five Towns definitely knew that he had stayed at Wilkins's for
a bet, and that Brindley had discharged the bet.
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