Peregrine listened to the celebrated voice and as he listened he looked at the really beautiful face with its noble brow and delicate bone structure. He watched the mouth and thought how markedly an exaggerated dip in the bow of the upper lip resembled that of the Droushout engraving and the so-called Grafton portrait. ‘I must put up with him,’ Peregrine thought. ‘He’s got the prestige, he’s got the looks and his voice is like no other voice. God give me strength.’

‘I’ll think very carefully about it, Marco,’ he said and he knew that Knight knew he was going to do nothing of the sort. Knight, in a grand seigneurial manner, clapped him on the shoulder. ‘We shall agree,’ he cried, ‘like birds in their little nest.’

‘I’m sure of it,’ said Peregrine.

‘One other thing, dear boy, and this is in your private ear.’ He steered Peregrine by the elbow into a corridor leading off to the boxes. ‘I find with some surprise,’ he said, muting the exquisite voice, ‘that we are to have W. Hartly Grove in our company.’

‘I thought he read Mr W. H. quite well, didn’t you?’

‘I could scarcely bring myself to listen,’ said Knight.

‘Oh,’ Peregrine said coolly. ‘Why?’

‘My dear man, do you know anything at all about Mr Harry Grove?’

‘Only that he is a reasonably good actor, Marco,’ Peregrine said. ‘Don’t let’s start any anti-Grove thing. For your information, and I’d be terribly grateful if you’d treat this as strictly – very strictly, Marco – between ourselves, I’ve had no hand in this piece of casting. It was done at the desire of the Management. They have been generous to a degree in every other aspect and even if I’d wanted to I couldn’t have opposed them.’

‘You had this person thrust upon you?’

‘If you’d like to put it that way.’

‘You should have refused.’

‘I had no valid reason for doing so. It is a good piece of casting. I beg you, Marco, not to raise a rumpus at the outset. Time enough when anything else happens to justify it.’

For a moment he wondered if Knight was going to produce a temperament then and there and throw in his part. But Peregrine felt sure Knight had a great desire to play Will Shakespeare and although, in the shadowy passage, he could see the danger signal of mounting purple in the oval face, the usual outburst did not follow this phenomenon.

Instead Knight said: ‘Listen. You think I am unreasonable. Allow me to tell you, Perry – ’

‘I don’t want to listen to gossip, Marco.’

‘Gossip! My God! Anyone who accuses me of gossip does me an injury I won’t stomach. Gossip! Let me tell you I know for a fact that Harry Grove – ’ The carpet was heavy and they had heard no sound of an approach. The worst would have happened if Peregrine had not seen a shadow move across the gilt panelling. He closed his hand round Knight’s arm and stopped him.