Greening shrugged his shoulders and glanced at the clock.
"Orders are orders," he declared, "and even if I disbelieved in the policy of the paper, I couldn't afford to disobey. Come and lunch, Tallente."
"Can I have a proof of the article?"
"By all means," was the prompt reply. "Shall I send it to your rooms or here?"
"Send it direct to Stephen Dartrey at the House of Commons."
"I see," Greening murmured thoughtfully, "and then a council of war, eh? Don't forget our promise, Tallente. We'll publish your counterblast, whatever the consequences."
Tallente sighed.
"It isn't decided yet," he said, as they made their way towards the luncheon room, "whether there is to be a counterblast."
CHAPTER XVI
"We have achieved a triumph," Jane declared, when the last of the servants had disappeared and the little party of four were left to their own devices. "We have sat through the whole of dinner and not once mentioned politics."