He rang the bell, asked for Mr Clott, and when that gentleman appeared, ordered him to procure a special licence without delay. Mr Clott made a note of it in his little red book, tucked his pencil behind his ear, and trotted away, his narrow little back stiffened by elation. He, a gentleman of the Automobile Club, for whom there was no life outside the narrow circle whose centre is Piccadilly Circus, had been uneasy in his mind about the young lady, who was so clearly neither married nor purchasable, and it was a relief to him that she was to be his new employer's wife, though he was afraid of her, and shrivelled to the marrow in her presence. II THE DWELLERS IN ENCHANTMENT '_Ca marche_,' said Charles Mann to his wife a few weeks later. His programme was maturing. He had arranged for two books to be published, for an exhibition to be held, for a committee to be formed, for lectures to be delivered in provincial centres, and he had been insulted by an offer to play a part in a forthcoming production of _King Lear_ at the Imperium Theatre. He had forgotten that he had ever been an actor and did not wish to be reminded of it, and he was incensed when the manager of the Imperium used the offer as an advertising paragraph. 'The fellow is jealous of the attention I am receiving in the Press and wants to divert some of it to himself.' 'You should go and see him,' suggested Clara. 'It is his place to come and see me.' 'No. Go and see him.' 'Are you right?' 'I always am.' 'Clott, take down this letter to Sir Henry Butcher, Imperium Theatre, S.W.... "Dear Sir Henry, When I declined your kind offer the other day, my refusal was as private as your suggestion. I can only conclude that some mistake has been made and I should like to have an understanding with you before I write a letter of explanation to the Press....'" 'You think too much of the Press, Carlo.' 'Only now, darling.... Later on the Press will have to come to me.' Clara looked dubious. 'You're moving too quickly,' she said. 'I'm getting more used to London now, and I'm afraid of it. It is just a great big machine, and there's no control over it. There are times when I want to take you away from it.' 'You gave me no peace until we came here.' 'Yes. But I didn't want to begin at the top. I wanted to come over and live as we lived in Paris.' 'Impossible. What is freedom in Paris is poverty in London.' 'But all your time goes in writing to the papers and sitting on committees. You aren't doing any work.' 'I've worked in exile for ten years. I can carry on with that for a year at least.' 'Very well. Only don't stop believing in yourself.' 'I could never do that.' 'I think it would be very easy for you to begin believing in what the papers said about you.' 'You're too young, my dear. You see things too clearly.'