When Phineas entered Lady Laura’s drawing-room on the Wednesday before dinner, he found the other guests all assembled.  Why men should have been earlier in keeping their dinner engagements on that day than on any other he did not understand; but it was the fact, probably, that the great anxiety of the time made those who were at all concerned in the matter very keen to hear and to be heard.  During these days everybody was in a hurry,—­everybody was eager; and there was a common feeling that not a minute was to be lost.  There were three ladies in the room,—­Lady Laura, Miss Fitzgibbon, and Mrs. Bonteen.  The latter was the wife of a gentleman who had been a junior Lord of the Admiralty in the late Government, and who lived in the expectation of filling, perhaps, some higher office in the Government which, as he hoped, was soon to be called into existence.  There were five gentlemen besides Phineas Finn himself,—­Mr. Bonteen, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Fitzgibbon, Barrington Erle, who had been caught in spite of all that Lady Laura had said as to the difficulty of such an operation, and Lord Brentford.  Phineas was quick to observe that every male guest was in Parliament, and to tell himself that he would not have been there unless he also had had a seat.

“We are all here now,” said the Earl, ringing the bell.

“I hope I’ve not kept you waiting,” said Phineas.

“Not at all,” said Lady Laura.  “I do not know why we are in such a hurry.  And how many do you say it will be, Mr. Finn?”

“Seventeen, I suppose,” said Phineas.

“More likely twenty-two,” said Mr. Bonteen.  “There is Colcleugh so ill they can’t possibly bring him up, and young Rochester is at Vienna, and Gunning is sulking about something, and Moody has lost his eldest son.  By George! they pressed him to come up, although Frank Moody won’t be buried till Friday.”

“I don’t believe it,” said Lord Brentford.

“You ask some of the Carlton fellows, and they’ll own it.”

“If I’d lost every relation I had in the world,” said Fitzgibbon, “I’d vote on such a question as this.  Staying away won’t bring poor Frank Moody back to life.”

“But there’s a decency in these matters, is there not, Mr. Fitzgibbon?” said Lady Laura.

“I thought they had thrown all that kind of thing overboard long ago,” said Miss Fitzgibbon.  “It would be better that they should have no veil, than squabble about the thickness of it.”

Then dinner was announced.  The Earl walked off with Miss Fitzgibbon, Barrington Erle took Mrs. Bonteen, and Mr. Fitzgibbon took Lady Laura.

“I’ll bet four pounds to two it’s over nineteen,” said Mr. Bonteen, as he passed through the drawing-room door.  The remark seemed to have been addressed to Mr. Kennedy, and Phineas therefore made no reply.

“I daresay it will,” said Kennedy, “but I never bet.”

“But you vote—­sometimes, I hope,” said Bonteen.