I bowed.
“Then I yield,” she said, after a pause.
I called the maid, and told her to order the carriage in five minutes. The silence was unbroken till it came round. The princess went into her room, and returned in cloak and hat, carrying a large muff. She was smiling.
“Ah, Mr. Jason, what can a woman do, against men? I am ready. We will go alone. The servants can follow.”
I handed her into the coach, ordering the coachman to drive fast. He was the only man with us, and we were alone inside.
I began, perhaps stupidly, to apologize for my peremptory conduct. The princess smiled amiably.
“I like a man of resolution,” she said, edging, I thought, a trifle nearer me, her hands nestling in her muff.
Apparently she was going to try the effect of amiability. I was prepared for this. She would not tempt me in that way.
“Your Royal Highness is most forgiving.”
“Oh, that is my way,” she answered, with the kindest possible glance, and she came nearer still.