'I'm sorry to hear that,' Solly said.
Hugh said: 'But I'm not asking for kindness. I know what I'm worth and you'll have to pay my price if you want me. I'm earning a thousand a year now and I expect it to go up every year as long as I continue to make more and more money for the bank.'
'That's no problem.' Solly thought for a moment. 'This could be a great coup for me, you know. I'm grateful for the offer. You're a good friend and a formidable businessman.' Hugh, thinking of Maisie again, felt a guilty pang at the words 'good friend.' Solly continued: 'There's nothing I'd like better than to have you working alongside me.'
'I detect an unspoken 'but,'' Hugh said with trepidation in his heart.
Solly shook his owlish head. 'No buts, as far as I'm concerned. Of course I can't hire you the way I'd hire a ledger clerk. I'll have to clear it with my father. But you know how it is in the world of banking: profit is an argument that outweighs all others. I don't see Father turning down the prospect of a chunk of the North American market.'
Hugh did not want to seem too eager, but he could not help saying: 'When will you speak to him?'
'Why not now?' Solly said. He stood up. 'I shan't be a minute. Have another glass of sherry.' He went out.
Hugh sipped his sherry but he found it hard to swallow, he was so tense. He had never applied for a job before. It was unnerving that his future depended on the whim of old Ben Greenbourne. For the first time he understood the feelings of the scrubbed young men in starched collars whom he had occasionally interviewed for jobs as clerks. Restlessly he got up and went to the window. On the far side of the river a barge was unloading bales of tobacco into a warehouse: if it was Virginia tobacco, he had probably financed the transaction.
He had a doomy feeling, a bit like the sensation he had had when he boarded ship for Boston six years ago: a sense that nothing would ever be the same again.
Solly came back in with his father. Ben Greenbourne had the upright carriage and bullet-shaped head of a Prussian general. Hugh stood up to shake hands and looked anxiously at his face. It was solemn. Did that mean no?
Ben said: 'Solly tells me your family has decided not to offer you a partnership.' His speech was coldly precise, the accent clipped. He was so different from his son, Hugh thought.
'To be exact, they offered it then withdrew the offer,' Hugh said.
Ben nodded. He was a man who appreciated exactness. 'It's not for me to criticize their judgment. However, if your North American expertise is for sale, as it were, then I'm certainly a buyer.'
Hugh's heart leaped. That sounded like a job offer. 'Thank you!' he said.
'But I shouldn't wish to take you on under false pretenses, so there's something I must make clear. It is not at all likely that you will ever become a partner here.'
Hugh had not actually thought that far ahead, but all the same it was a blow. 'I see,' he said.
'I say this now so that you will never think it a reflection on your work. Many Christians are valued colleagues and dear friends, but the partners have always been Jews, and it will ever be so.'
'I appreciate your frankness,' Hugh said. He was thinking: By God, you're a coldhearted old man.
'Do you still want the job?'
'Yes, I do.'
Ben Greenbourne shook his hand again. 'Then I look forward to working with you,' he said, and he left the room.
Solly smiled broadly. 'Welcome to the firm!'
Hugh sat down. 'Thank you,' he said. His relief and pleasure were somewhat blighted by the thought that he would never be a partner, but he made an effort to put a good face on it. He would make a good salary, and live comfortably; it was just that he would never be a millionaire--to make that sort of money you had to be a partner.
'When can you start?' Solly said eagerly.
Hugh had not thought of that. 'I probably should give ninety days notice.'
'Make it less if you can.'
'Of course. Solly, this is great. I can't tell you how pleased I am.'
'Me too.'
Hugh could not think what to say next, so he stood up to go, but Solly said: 'Can I make another suggestion?'
'By all means.' He sat down again.
'It's about Nora. I hope you won't take offense.'
Hugh hesitated. They were old friends, but he really did not want to talk to Solly about his wife. His own feelings were too ambivalent. He was embarrassed about the scene she had made, yet he also felt she had been justified. He felt defensive about her accent, her manners and her low-class background, but he was also proud of her for being so pretty and charming.
However, he could hardly be touchy with the man who had just rescued his career, so he said: 'Go ahead.'
'As you know, I too married a girl who was ... not used to high society.'
Hugh nodded. He knew it perfectly well, but he did not know how Maisie and Solly had coped with the situation, for he had been abroad when they married. They must have handled it well, for Maisie had become one of London's leading society hostesses and if anyone remembered her humble origins they never spoke of it. This was unusual, but not unique: Hugh had heard of two or three celebrated working-class beauties who had been accepted by high society in the past.
Solly went on: 'Maisie knows what Nora's going through. She could help her a lot: tell her what to do and say, what mistakes to avoid, where to get gowns and hats, how to manage the butler and the housekeeper, all that. Maisie's always been fond of you, Hugh, so I feel sure she'd be glad to help. And there's no reason Nora shouldn't pull off the trick Maisie did and end up as a pillar of society.'
Hugh found himself moved almost to tears. This gesture of support from an old friend touched his heart. 'I'll suggest it,' he said, speaking rather curtly to hide his feelings. He stood up to go.
'I hope I haven't overstepped the mark,' Solly said anxiously as they shook hands.
Hugh went to the door. 'On the contrary. Damn it, Greenbourne, you're a better friend than I deserve.'
When Hugh got back to Pilasters Bank there was a note waiting for him. It read:
10.30 a.m.
My dear Pilaster:
I must see you right away. You will find me in Plage's Coffee House around the corner. I will wait for you. Your old friend--Antonio Silva.
So Tonio was back! His career had been ruined when he lost more than he could pay in
