‘I’m so pleased I bumped into you,’ he said, blinking his brown, bulging eyes. ‘I was thinking of a couple of hours’ faro this evening, if you were in the mood.’

‘Have a drink, Nathan,’ said Henry. ‘At the moment we’re deciding whether we’re in the mood for a wedding or a funeral, or maybe both.’

Nathan Hackett looked from Henry to Collis, and then to Jack and Lewis, and his smile slowly faded. He was the son of Colonel Walter Hackett, who was president of innumerable banks and funds and trusts, but was probably better known for his love of polo and cards and women. Colonel Hackett’s only legitimate offspring, Nathan had inherited all of his madcap enjoyment of wagering and gambling; and although Collis considered himself a sharp faro player and a risky kind of a betting man, he knew that Nathan unquestionably had the edge on him. It was Nathan who the previous night had bet on the matter of the bald heads.

‘You’re welcome to join us,’ said Collis. ‘I’m afraid I was just starting the evening with some reflective thoughts, and I’ve made us all miserable. I’ve had one of those days when you don’t know whether to do away with yourself by drowning, which might take the press out of your clothes, or by taking poison, which might disagree with your luncheon.’

‘We’re going to Delmonico’s,’ put in Henry. ‘And then we’re off to Leonard Street to enjoy a slightly exotic entertainment.’

Nathan took his pocket watch out of his vest and peered at it. ‘I have to meet the Rodgerses at White’s Restaurant,’ he said. ‘But once that chore’s over, I’ll come down to Delmonico’s and join you. You know the way the Rodgerses eat. Like lions at the zoo. It should all be devoured in a half-hour.’

‘I bet you five dollars they’ll take longer,’ Collis said.

Nathan grasped his hand. ‘Done! Now, I must be off. I’m late already.’

‘No force-feeding, mind,’ said Jack. ‘We don’t want you to win this wager by propping open poor old Dorothy Rodgers’s mouth with a salt cellar and pouring the soup straight down her gullet.’

Nathan raised his hands as if to protest his innocent intentions and then pushed his way back through the crowd. Henry turned to Collis and remarked, ‘Well, that seems to have cheered you up. There’s nothing like a wager, I always say. It’s almost as exhilarating as getting drunk. How about another stone fence before we go to the restaurant?’