Oh, Charles, get a paper at once. Hurry up! CHARLES. Very good, sir. [_He goes out. Outside, cries of “Terrible catastrophe in India.”_ GERALD. By Jove, did you hear that? [_Cries of “Special, Special.”_ LADY SELLENGER. Why doesn’t he make haste? GERALD. Nonsense. It can’t have anything to do with Hollington. MRS. DOT. [_With her hand on his arm, anxiously._] Gerald. [FREDDIE PERKINS _is looking out of the window_. FREDDIE. Here’s Charles. By Jove, he isn’t hurrying himself much. GERALD. Has he got a newsboy? FREDDIE. Yes. What the deuce is he doing? GERALD. [_At the window._] Good lord, he’s reading the paper. LADY SELLENGER. The suspense is too awful. FREDDIE. There’s another newsboy running down the street. [_Cries of “Special, Special.”_ GERALD. Thank God, he’s coming upstairs at last. I should like to kick him. [_Cries of “Terrible catastrophe in India. ’Eroic death of Lord ’Ollington.”_ Good God! [_They all remain in silence, full of consternation._ CHARLES _enters with the paper_. Hurry up, man! What the deuce have you been doing? [_He snatches the paper from him._ CHARLES. [_With dignity._] I made all the ’aste I could, my lord. [GERALD _stops for a moment from looking up and down the paper, and stares at him_. GERALD. What the dickens d’you mean? [_He looks at the paper, reads, and drops it._ MRS. DOT. Is it true, Gerald? [_He looks at her and nods._ GERALD. Poor chap. And just as he was going to be married. CHARLES. Shall I bring your hat and coat, my lord? GERALD. What on earth are you talking about? CHARLES. I thought your lordship would like to go round to the War Office. GERALD. Shut up! [_Exit_ CHARLES. LADY SELLENGER. My dear boy, I congratulate you with all my heart. GERALD. Oh, don’t remind me of that already. LADY SELLENGER. I can quite understand you’re a little upset, but after all he was only a very distant relation of yours. BLENKINSOP. I don’t understand what all this means. GERALD. Didn’t you hear that fool of a servant? It was the first thing he thought of. MRS. DOT. Gerald succeeds to the peerage! GERALD. Yes. MRS. DOT. Wouldn’t you like us to leave you alone? I’m sure you want to think things out a bit? LADY SELLENGER. Come, Nellie! GERALD. I’m sorry to turn you out. Good-bye. I had something to say to you, Nellie. NELLIE. We’ve not had a chance of speaking to one another. LADY SELLENGER. [_Unctuously._] It’s very fortunate. Now you’ll have much pleasanter things to talk about. [_He stares at her without understanding._ LADY SELLENGER. Things are very different now, Gerald. It just came in time, didn’t it? NELLIE. Good-bye. [LADY SELLENGER _and_ NELLIE _go out_. BLENKINSOP.