‘Yes, I noticed. But why did she want to see me tread the boards?’
Jeeves did not answer at once. ‘When you planned to flirt with Miss Hackwood, sir, whom did you consult about her tennis routine?’
‘Mrs Tilman. At your suggestion, Jeeves. She told me she was meeting the pro. Then Georgiana turned up!’
‘I fear Mrs Tilman may inadvertently have confused the days of the week, sir.’
‘Or not so inadvertently, eh?’
‘It was felt that if Miss Meadowes were to see you in such a light it would concentrate her feelings for you.’
‘I see. And what about Plan B? Did Mrs Tilman fix for that to come a cropper, too?’
‘No, sir. I regret to say that that was my doing. When Miss Hackwood was on her way to the bench I waylaid her and informed her that I had seen a Camberwell Beauty in the rose garden.’
‘And had you?’
‘I am not an expert lepidopterist, sir. It may well have turned out to be a Cabbage White. But Hiss Hackwood was diverted.’
‘And young Venables?’
‘I told Mr Venables I had spotted an unsigned copy of By Tramcar to Toledo on the bench by the rhododendron. He needed little urging to make his way there with all speed.’
‘And what was the strategy there?’
‘As with the first misunderstanding, sir. It was felt that when confronted with an unpalatable situation Mr Venables would be compelled to examine his own feelings.’
‘Golly, Jeeves. You have been hard at work.’
‘Mrs Tilman was a most willing aide-de-camp, sir. She wished to see a similar outcome.’
‘So she played the role of Puck in more ways than one. And while we’re at it, has young Venables got fixed up with this girl in Nottinghamshire?’
‘I believe so, sir. Much to his parents’ satisfaction. I understand they had some doubts about the suitability of the match with Miss Meadowes.’
A number of loose ends of which I had earlier been aware now seemed to be tied off.
‘Mrs Tilman was very helpful with my alibi on the night of the rooftop incident,’ I said. ‘The next morning she said she’d seen me leave the library and go to bed … And you were rather insistent on knowing where Plan B was going to take place.’
‘I regret that a degree of dissimulation was necessary on occasion, sir. The reversal of our customary roles made it difficult for me to apprise you of my thinking at all material times.’
I hummed and hah-ed a bit. One or two other things were falling into place. The day that Jeeves had given me the morning off tea-duty, presumably so he could have another confab with his co-conspirator … The way Mrs Tilman looked guilty when I mentioned how often in a day she seemed to bump into Lord Etringham …
What was still not clear to me, however, was the nature of what you might call the Masterplan. I think I may have mentioned the odd sensation I had had of being the plaything of Unseen Forces, and I suppose I should really have guessed that the UFs were Jeeves and Mrs Tilman. But I still wasn’t sure why they had gone to such lengths.
‘Jeeves,’ I said. ‘Mrs Tilman seems an excellent woman who—’
‘Most excellent, sir. Also a keen reader.’
‘Yes, I saw her wading through a Venables travelogue. I hope you’ll have many happy evenings swapping literary insights.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
‘And you somehow managed to get old Etringham on board. Did you realise that without his contribution the Hall would still have had to be sold? The deficit was beyond my means. Old Hackwood mentioned a figure. It was like the national debt of Bechuanaland.’
‘I was aware that some additional capital was of the essence, sir.’
‘But, Jeeves, what I don’t understand is why you wanted all this to happen. Why were you prepared to go to such lengths? I suspect that there was something more than the feudal spirit involved.’
‘Indeed, sir.’ Jeeves looked uncomfortable. ‘Before I enlighten you, sir, I should like to confess another minor subterfuge.’
‘Go on.’
‘It concerns Lady Worplesdon, sir. A colleague at the Junior Ganymede has a brother-in-law who works for a printer’s in Clerkenwell. In return for a small consideration, he was prepared to make an imitation of a telegram such as Lady Worplesdon might have sent.’
‘You mean there were no building works at Bumpleigh Hall?’
‘None, sir. No visit was ever mooted.’
‘But you offered to put me on the blower to her.’
‘It was an invitation I felt confident you would decline, sir.’
‘My goodness, Jeeves, you have surpassed yourself.’
‘Thank you, sir. I felt it was essential for you to take up residence in Kingston St Giles. And I feared that a certain reluctance to interfere in the affairs of others might dissuade you from going.’