'Where's Sir Gregory?' said Melmotte, in a hoarse whisper, bending over the chair of a City friend. It was old Todd, the senior partner of Todd, Brehgert, and Goldsheiner. Mr Todd was a very wealthy man, and had a considerable following in the City.
'Ain't he here?' said Todd,--knowing very well who had come from the City and who had declined.
'No;--and the Lord Mayor's not come;--nor Postlethwaite, nor Bunter. What's the meaning of it?'
Todd looked first at one neighbour and then at another before he answered. 'I'm here, that's all I can say, Mr Melmotte; and I've had a very good dinner. They who haven't come, have lost a very good dinner.'
There was a weight upon Melmotte's mind of which he could not rid himself. He knew from the old man's manner, and he knew also from Lord Alfred's manner, that there was something which each of them could tell him if he would. But he was unable to make the men open their mouths. And yet it might be so important to him that he should know! 'It's very odd,' he said, 'that gentlemen should promise to come and then stay away. There were hundreds anxious to be present whom I should have been glad to welcome, if I had known that there would be room. I think it is very odd.'
'It is odd,' said Mr Todd, turning his attention to the plate before him.
Melmotte had lately seen much of Beaucharnp Beauclerk, in reference to the coming election. Passing back up the table, he found the gentleman with a vacant seat on one side of him. There were many vacant seats in this part of the room, as the places for the Conservative gentlemen had been set apart together. There Mr Melmotte seated himself for a minute, thinking that he might get the truth from his new ally. Prudence should have kept him silent. Let the cause of these desertions have been what it might, it ought to have been clear to him that he could apply no remedy to it now. But he was bewildered and dismayed, and his mind within him was changing at every moment. He was now striving to trust to his arrogance and declaring that nothing should cow him. And then again he was so cowed that he was ready to creep to any one for assistance. Personally, Mr Beauclerk had disliked the man greatly. Among the vulgar, loud upstarts whom he had known, Melmotte was the vulgarest, the loudest, and the most arrogant. But he had taken the business of Melmotte's election in hand, and considered himself bound to stand by Melmotte till that was over; and he was now the guest of the man in his own house, and was therefore constrained to courtesy. His wife was sitting by him, and he at once introduced her to Mr Melmotte. 'You have a wonderful assemblage here, Mr Melmotte,' said the lady, looking up at the royal table.