“You cannot leave the room, M. Denver; my men are outside.”
I was now in great fear; the start I gave showed him this.
“Do you dare to make me, an American citizen, a prisoner in my own rooms? You shall answer for this, monsieur,” I exclaimed with great heat, and flung the door open.
He had spoken truly. A half-dozen men were stationed at the doors of our rooms. I shut the door again angrily.
“I shall appeal to my Ambassador.”
“Have you not carried this far enough?” he asked menacingly. I had come to the same conclusion—although our reasons differed no doubt. “You have no alternative now but to accept my conditions,” he added.
I affected to think, and then called Helga.
“Helga, Prince Kalkov orders us to leave Russia, and because I will not consent immediately, and will not advise you to take no further steps to clear your father’s memory, he threatens to have us arrested.”
“It is like his Highness,” she said contemptuously.
“What answer shall we give him?”