‘Are you?’ Mr Greenslade rejoined. ‘Good. In that case I shall proceed with the preliminary investigations. I, by the way, am the solicitor for a number of Mr Conducis’s interests. If and when it comes to drawing up contracts I presume I should negotiate with your agents?’

‘Yes. They are –’

‘Thank you,’ said Mr Greenslade, ‘Messrs Slade and Opinger, I believe?’

‘Yes,’ said Peregrine, wondering if at any stage of his tipsy rhapsody he had mentioned them to Mr Conducis and rather concluding that he hadn’t.

‘There is one other matter.’ Mr Greenslade opened a drawer in his desk and with an uncanny re-enacting of his principal’s gestures on the previous morning, withdrew from it the small Victorian writing desk. ‘You are already familiar with the contents, I understand, and expressed some anxiety about their aunthenticity.’

‘I said I wished they could be shown to an expert.’

‘Quite. Mr Conducis has taken your point, Mr Jay, and wonders if you yourself would be so obliging as to act for him in this respect.’

Peregrine, in a kind of trance, said: ‘Are the glove and documents insured?’

‘They are covered by a general policy but they have not been specifically insured since their value is unknown.’

‘I feel the responsibility would be –’

‘I appreciate your hesitation and I may say I put the point to Mr Conducis. He still wishes me to ask you to undertake this mission.’

There was a short silence.

‘Sir,’ said Peregrine, ‘why is Mr Conducis doing all this? Why is he giving me at least the chance of undertaking such fantastically responsible jobs? What possible motive can he have? I hope,’ Peregrine continued with a forthrightness that became him very well, ‘that I’m not such an ass as to suppose I can have made an impression in the least degree commensurable with the proposals you’ve put before me and I – I – ‘ He felt himself reddening and ran out of words. Mr Greenslade had watched him, he thought, with renewed attention. He now lifted his spectacles with both hands, held them poised daintily over his blotter and said, apparently to them:

‘A reasonable query.’

‘Well – I hope so.’

‘And one which I am unable to answer.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yes. I will,’ said Mr Greenslade, evenly, ‘be frank with you, Mr Jay. I am at a loss to know why Mr Conducis is taking this action. If, however, I have interpreted your misgivings correctly I can assure you they are misplaced.’ Suddenly, almost dramatically, Mr Greenslade became human, good-tempered and coarse. ‘He’s not that way inclined,’ he said and laid down his spectacles.

‘I’m extremely glad to hear it.’

‘You will undertake the commission?’

‘Yes, I will.’

‘Splendid.’

III

The expert folded his hands and leant back in his chair.