Cecil, emerging from breakfast, sighted his enemy and made haste to join him.
"Jolly old rookery you've got," remarked the reporter.
"Yes," said Banborough. "It was a monastery originally. They turned it into a bishop's palace about the reign of Henry VIII."
"I know that style," said the American. "Nice rambling ark, two stories high, and no two rooms on the same level. Architect built right out into the country till he got tired, and then turned round and came back. Obliged to have a valet to show you to your room whether you're sober or not."
"I didn't know," said Cecil drily, "that you possessed an extensive acquaintance in ecclesiastical circles in this country."
"Oh, yes," said Marchmont, "I served as valet for six months to a bishop while I was gathering materials for my articles on 'English Sees Seen from the Inside.'"
"Was it a financial success?" queried Banborough.
"No," admitted the reporter regretfully, "it sold the paper splendidly, but was stopped at the second article at the request of the American ambassador."
"Did you favour us with a visit?"
"I hadn't that honour."