“–but they do come to the meetings,” Bannister continued, ignoring him, “and they do give to the Guild. The same thing’s going to happen in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada – wherever we go. We’ll come back to the States on top of the wave.”

“With a lot of money, too … A guy asked me yesterday what we did with the profits.”

“I hope you told him,” said Charles Bannister austerely.

“What! And land us all in jail?”

“We make very substantial donations to charity, and we are building up the Guild all the time.” Charles Bannister’s voice was positively Victorian in rebuke. It had not proved possible to exclude Jack Lett from the financial side of their activities, and he had an accurate picture of it; but both the Bannisters tried to avoid open discussion on the point. It tended to weaken their authority … “We have absolutely nothing to hide.”

“And we’re all living at the Bristol.” Jack Lett grinned, not innocently. “Come off it, Charlie, like the British say – you’re not talking for the suckers now.”

“We are living at the Bristol because it is comfortable for Esther.”

“So central, too … Jesus, who are you trying to convince?”

Charles Bannister frowned. “We depend completely on the public’s confidence. It’s very important that all our actions should be above reproach. I deprecate” – he said, looking exceptionally statesmanlike – “I deprecate any loose talk on the subject.”

“Then you’d better make a big donation to some blind charity. And create a lot of noise about it, too.”

“Our prime duty is to the Guild. We have to place it on a solid basis, first.”

Jack Lett grinned again, glancing round the room. “This basis looks solid enough to me … Look, Charlie, I’m only trying to help. I’ve no complaints myself: my side of it is a gold mine – we both know that – and I don’t want to interfere with yours. But if people really started talking, it would kill us all. That’s why I say, come across with a pretty solid donation now, while we’re in England. It’ll pay us a dividend, in the end.”

“I think he’s right, Charles,” said Mrs Bannister. “Surely we can afford a few thousand dollars.”

“Of course we can afford it. The central Guild fund now stands at” – he checked himself – “at a very substantial figure. But I don’t want people to get into the way of thinking that we can answer every call on us. We have to build up a solid reserve.”

“I think,” said Jack Lett, “that you ought to distribute not less than twenty per cent.”

“There’s no point in going to extremes,” answered Bannister coldly. He stood up, brandy glass in hand, dapper, correct, well-tailored, very English among these crude transatlantics. “It’s a policy matter,” he said, swaying slightly, repeating the magic, exclusive phrase. “You can leave that sort of thing to me.”

Jack Lett turned towards the door, shrugging it all of. “Well, I’ve got to meet a man … Are we having dinner here in the hotel?”