Besides, can't you see what I mean? I couldn't trade on a chance
acquaintance of the golf links to--'

'That is just what I complain of in you. You're too diffident.'

'It isn't diffidence exactly. Talking of old Nutcombe, I was
speaking to Gates again the other night. He was telling me about
America. There's a lot of money to be made over there, you know,
and the committee owes me a holiday. They would give me a few
weeks off any time I liked.

'What do you say? Shall I pop over and have a look round? I might
happen to drop into something. Gates was telling me about fellows
he knew who had dropped into things in New York.'

'What's the good of putting yourself to all the trouble and
expense of going to America? You can easily make all you want in
London if you will only try. It isn't as if you had no chances.
You have more chances than almost any man in town. With your title
you could get all the directorships in the City that you wanted.'

'Well, the fact is, this business of taking directorships has
never quite appealed to me. I don't know anything about the game,
and I should probably run up against some wildcat company. I can't
say I like the directorship wheeze much. It's the idea of knowing
that one's name would be being used as a bait. Every time I saw it
on a prospectus I should feel like a trout fly.'

Claire bit her lip.