#also I am imagining Jeeves following Stiffy to the collection room so she can give him the statue right away
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huanglaoshu · 1 year ago
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"If I might make a suggestion, sir?" "Press on, Jeeves." "Would it not be possible for you to go to Totleigh Towers, but to decline to carry out Miss Byng's wishes?" I weighed this. It was, I could see, a thought. "Issue a nolle prosequi, you mean? Tell her to go and boil her head?" "Precisely, sir."
-- Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, chapter 4
Immediately after Bertie explains how he failed to say no to Stiffy:
To my surprise, instead of raising an eyebrow the customary eighth of an inch and saying "Most disturbing, sir," he came within an ace of smiling. That is to say, the left corner of his mouth quivered almost imperceptibly before returning to position one. "You cannot accede to Miss Byng's request, sir." I took an astonished sip of coffee. I couldn't follow his train of thought. It seemed to me that he couldn't have been listening. "But if I don't, she'll squeal to the FBI." "No, sir, for the lady will be forced to admit that it is physically impossible for you to carry out her wishes. The statuette is no longer at large. It has been placed in Sir Watkyn's collection room behind a stout steel door."
-- Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, chapter 10
Bertie sends Jeeves to tell Stiffy no for him, and then:
He was absent quite a time -- so long, in fact, that I was dressed when he returned. "I saw Miss Byng, sir." "And--?" "She is still insistent that you restore the statuette to Mr. Plank." "She's cuckoo. I can't get into the collection room." "No, sir, but Miss Byng can. She informs me that not long ago Sir Watkyn chanced to drop his key, and she picked it up and omitted to apprise him. Sir Watkyn had another key made, but the original remains in Miss Byng's possession." I clutched the brow. "You mean she can get into the room any time she feels like it?" "Precisely, sir. Indeed, she has just done so." And so saying he fished the eyesore from an inner pocket and handed it to me. "Miss Byng suggests that you take the object to Mr. Plank after luncheon. In her droll way she said the meal -- I quote her words -- would put the necessary stuffing into you and nerve you for the... It is somewhat early, sir, but shall I get you a little brandy?"
-- Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, chapter 10
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