to be a secretary all your life, is it? No. Very well. Diligence, and a respect for detail should be your care.
I did not become Lord Weston by twiddling my thumbs and hoping for favours. I won my honours by hard work and zealous service. Today, I am the best-known, and certainly the most impartial judge in England, and a favoured servant of his gracious majesty, Charles the Second . That, I submit, my good Roger, is an example to be studied.
It is now only unbecoming in you to ask for a half-holiday, but it is greatly unlike you. I fear….( He has turned towards his secretary, and discovers his misplaced diligence. After a pause, coldly ) Can it be, Mr. Chetwynd, that you have not been listening to my discourse?
ROGER ( brought to the surface by the cessation of the word music ): What, my lord? Oh, no. Yes, certainly, sir, I am listening. WESTON: What was I talking of?
ROGER: Yourself, sir. ( amending ) I mean, of your rise to success, my lord. ( It is apparent that it is an oft-heard tale .) WESTON: We were talking of your extraordinary request for a half-holiday, when you had one only last month. Would it be straining courtesy too far if I were to inquire what prompts this new demand for heedless leisure?
ROGER: I thought perhaps if you did not need me this afternoon, my lord, I might personally interview the clerk of the Awards Committee, and find out why he has not sent that document. WESTON: ( a little taken aback ): Oh, Oh, indeed. ROGER: The lack of it greatly hinders. It holds up my work, you see.
And at this most interesting point…. ( His glance goes longingly to his desk .) WESTON: That, of course, is a different matter. I see no reason why you should not take a walk to Mr.Clay’s in the afternoon if the weather is fine. I am relieved that your thoughts are on sober matters, as befits a rising young man.
Diligence, courage, and attention