“I will not pretend,” Mr. Sabin said,
“to misunderstand you. My help is not
required by you in this enterprise, whatever it may
be, in which you are engaged. On the contrary,
you have tried by many and various ways to keep me
at a distance. But I am here, Prince —here
to be dealt with and treated according to my rights.”
The Prince stroked his fair moustache.
“I am a little puzzled,” he admitted,
“as to this—shall I not call it self-assertiveness?—on
the part of my good friend Souspennier.”
“I will make it quite clear then,” Mr.
Sabin answered. “Lucille, will you favour
me by ringing for your maid. The carriage is
at the door.”
The Prince held out his hand.
“My dear Souspennier,” he said, “you
must not think of taking Lucille away from us.”
“Indeed,” Mr. Sabin answered coolly.
“Why not?”
“It must be obvious to you,” the Prince
answered, “that we did not send to America for
Lucille without an object. She is now engaged
in an important work upon our behalf. It is necessary
that she should remain under this roof.”
“I demand,” Mr. Sabin said, “that
the nature of that necessity should be made clear
to me.”
The Prince smiled with the air of one disposed to
humour a wilful child.
“Come!” he said. “You must
know very well that I cannot stand here and tell you
the bare outline, much less the details of an important
movement. To-morrow, at any hour you choose,
one from amongst us shall explain the whole matter—and
the part to be borne in it by the Countess!”
“And to-night?” Mr. Sabin asked.
The Prince shrugged his shoulders and glanced at the
clock.
“To-night, my dear friend,” he said, “all
of us, I believe, go on to a ball at Carmarthen House.
It would grieve me also, I am sure, Duke, to seem
inhospitable, but I am compelled to mention the fact
that the hour for which the carriages have been ordered
is already at hand.”
Mr. Sabin reflected for a few moments.
“Did I understand you to say,” he asked,
“that the help to be given to you by my wife,
Lucille, Duchess of Souspennier, entailed her remaining
under this roof?”
The Prince smiled seraphically.
“It is unfortunate,” he murmured, “since
you have been so gallant as to follow her, but it
is true! You will understand this perfectly—to-morrow.”
“And why should I wait until to-morrow?”
Mr. Sabin asked coolly.
“I fear,” the Prince said, “that
it is a matter of necessity.”
Mr. Sabin glanced for a moment in turn at the faces
of all the little company as though seeking to discover
how far the attitude of his opponent met with their
approval. Lady Carey’s thin lips were
curved in a smile, and her eyes met his mockingly.
The others remained imperturbable. Last of
all he looked at Lucille.
