But the moment I entered that watchfulness came back, and Stone rose to greet me and break up all impression of intimacy.
'Forgive me, both,' I said. 'I would not be here uninvited if it was not a matter of importance. Mr Stone; may I have a word in private, please.'
Elizabeth rose. 'Stay here; I have matters to attend to upstairs. I will not disturb you.'
She left the room swiftly, and Stone eyed me with a mixture of curiosity and, I could tell, no small amount of annoyance.
'As I say, I apologise. However, I need to send a telegram to Wilkinson which will not be read by anyone else. I would like to use your telegraph system.'
'Well, certainly. I am happy to oblige,' he said. 'Do I take it you want to send it now, this very minute?'
'This very minute,' I replied, 'or at least as soon as possible. I do not think it can wait until tomorrow.'
'And are you able to tell me what this is about? I will of course assist you in any case, but you will understand that you have excited my curiosity.'
'I believe I can. In fact, I think it might be a good idea. To make sure that I am not making a fool of myself. It is about Barings.'
And so I settled down and told him about the statement by Steinberg at his dinner, my meeting with Hubert at the racecourse, and the conclusions I had drawn from studying the movements of bullion out of the Bank of England.
'So you believe this is a concerted attempt against London?'
'I believe it is, although of that I have no proof. Certainly it would be a remarkable coincidence if it is not. At the moment, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that on Thursday it will become clear that the Barings bond issue has failed; people will wonder if it has enough money to cover its liabilities – correctly, as it certainly does not. There will be a run to gold, at Barings and at every other institution in the City. The Bank of England will be unable to supply the gold requested; Barings will collapse, and the Bank will have to suspend convertibility. I leave it to you to figure out the consequences.'
Stone stroked his chin, and considered. 'That's easy enough. Bank rates will rocket, institutions will founder, savers will be ruined, companies starved of funds, trade will be crippled. The possible effects could go on and on. Impressive.'
'I beg your pardon?'
'I was talking abstractly. One cannot help but admire a fine piece of work, well executed. But, as you say, it does not matter whether this is planned or not. The question is whether anything can be done to stop it. For example, what difference will it make if Wilkinson – and through him, I presume the Bank of England, the Government and Barings – knows what is about to take place?'
'If they are prepared, they can, at least, call in all the gold they can find from the other banks. That might be enough to stop the panic growing.'
Stone shook his head. 'I very much doubt that. If you are correct, many foreign institutions in London will have their requests to withdraw bullion already written waiting to be delivered. To start the panic off with a vengeance. I mean, it is certainly worth a try, should the authorities so decide, but I doubt it will work. Hmm.'
'What?'
'I'm sorry,' he said with a faint smile. 'I was just calculating my own exposure. What a pity you did not find this out yesterday. Then I could have exited the markets in time. Now, it seems, I will have to go down with everyone else; my fate tied to the demise of that fool Revelstoke. What a very great nuisance. Still, I suppose if I order my people to sell first thing on Monday morning . . .'
'But that will merely add to the panic,' I said, incredulously.
Stone looked at me in surprise. 'Maybe so,' he said, 'but I do not see why I should be ruined because of Lord Revelstoke's overweening ambition and lack of judgement.'
I stared at him. I knew full well that Stone's gentle manner merely disguised the activities of one of the more ruthless of operators. But I never expected him to be quite so unpatriotic.
'Do not concern yourself,' he said, as though he read my thoughts. 'Self-preservation and patriotism are not entirely incompatible. I will not be ruined by this. On the other hand, I will render whatever assistance I can. I am more than aware – more than you, probably – how damaging all this might prove to be. It is not in my interest for the financial machinery of the Empire to be ruined. Quite the contrary. I depend on the markets for money, on shippers for orders, on the Government having healthy tax receipts for military commissions. And I depend on Britain's reputation to give my companies the advantage in foreign markets. For these reasons, I will help, if I can.'
He stood up. 'And we can begin by going to the offices and sending your telegram. I will have to come with you. Can you work a telegraph machine?'
I nodded. 'I think so.'
