The Younger Set by Robert W. Chambers

“You never met Selwyn, did you?”
“No, sir.”
“Never heard anything definite about his trouble?” insisted Gerard.
“Oh, yes, sir!” replied young Erroll, “I’ve heard a good deal about it. Everybody has, you know.”
“Well, I don’t know,” retorted Austin Gerard irritably, “what ‘everybody’ has heard, but I suppose it’s the usual garbled version made up of distorted fact and malicious gossip. That’s why I sent for you. Sit down.”