‘True, I assure you. Such is the estimation he is held in at Athens, the Greeks declare he has not his equal. You are aware that his name is Spiridion Kostalergi, and he claims to be Prince of Delos.’
‘With all my heart. Our Hellenic friends never quarrel over their nobility. There are titles and to spare for every one. Will he give us our papers?’
‘Yes; but not without high terms. He declares, in fact, my lord, that you can no more return to the Bosporus without him than he can go there without you.’
‘Is the fellow insolent enough to take this ground?’
‘That is he. In fact, he presumes to talk as your lordship’s colleague, and hints at the several points in which you may act in concert.’
‘It is very Greek all this.’
‘His terms are ten thousand pounds in cash, and—’
‘There, there, that will do. Why not fifty—why not a hundred thousand?’
‘He affects a desire to be moderate, my lord.’
‘I hope you withdrew at once after such a proposal? I trust you did not prolong the interview a moment longer?’