there's no way of arranging that here. When we're in the new place it'll be much better."
I
pointed out that though all this was no doubt true, the buyers did not
seem to mind the lack of privacy. "I never saw such concentration in my
life," I said.
"Well,
that's as may be," said Mr. Bentinck, slightly mollified, "but it's
all wrong nevertheless. The fact is we've been overtaken by the housing
shortage like everybody else, and by the diamond boom at the same time.
It never used to be so bad. Place is a madhouse. Well, now, I want you
to take a good look at that fellow there in the corner. You'd never
think to look at him—he's a very quiet chap, isn't he?—that he's our
best customer, but he is, and has been for years. Never a visit but he
doesn't go back to the States with more than twenty thousand pounds'
worth of diamonds. I reckon he's bought about thirty thousand this week
alone. And argue! That fellow would argue day and night to save a
couple of pounds: I often ask him what he thinks he's buying, anyway.
Take this time, he's studying the best stone we've been able to put on
the market this year, a hundred and twenty-seven carat, at a hundred
forty pounds a carat. Beautiful stone. 'How much?' he asked, just as if
he didn't know, as if I hadn't told him, and anyway it was written
right there on the wrapping. I said, 'How much? You know how much. A
hundred forty.' He said, 'What? No, no, you've forgotten; this is me you're
talking to. I'm not spending a hundred forty on any diamond in the
world. I'll give a hundred twenty.' I said, 'You're crazy.' Well, so it
went. What a fellow! He pretended to think it over a while, and then he
said, 'I tell you what I'll do, I'll put it up two-pun-ten.'
Two-pun-ten!" Mr. Bentinck repeated, and went off into
