She liked to have important people about her, and
Mr. Rodrigg explained Sir Arthur very much as
Camelia had explained Mr. Rodrigg. It was pla-
tonic friendliness — quite hopeless. He realized that
Camelia might dally with his own hopes, that skill
might be necessary to win her finally, and he in-
tended to be very skilful, to show no jealousy or
carping that might indispose her towards his future
marital authority. And Mr, Rodrigg hardly felt the
fitness of jealousy. He was, he thought, a cleverer
man than Henge, a man of more intrinsic weight.
Henge had a light and pretty talent, spoke with
conviction, but was not the man to sway the world
with socialism rewarmed in Tory saucepans ; whereas
Europe trembled at Mr. Rodrigg's nod, at least so
Mr. Rodrigg, not unreasonably, was convinced. The
" good match '* theory in explanation of Camelia*s

ii8



THE CONFOUNDING OF CAMELIA

motives only fortified his own quiet consciousness
of supremacy. He qufte gave Camelia credit for an
undazzled directness of vision that would surely ap-
prise her of the side on which her bread was most
thickly buttered. So Mr. Rodrigg arrived in an
atmosphere of blue-books and business unavoidable,
though with a minor effect of a great mind unbend-
ing to lighter mundanities. His face was typically
British ; ruddy, with broad features clearly hewn ;
keen eyes, a tight mouth, and an expression of
sagacious toleration of things in general.
Camelia met him with her prettiest air of mutual
understanding that would warrant the neatest epi-
grams. Her penetration of Mr. Rodrigg's character
had never quite realized his tenacious conceit.
