CHAPTER XXXVII
THE BLACK BAG
Lady Dennisford had failed. I saw it in her face as soon as I entered the room, and her first few words confirmed it.
"It's no use, Jim," she declared. "I've done my best, but there isn't a soul who will listen to me."
"Good God!" I murmured, and sat down on the sofa.
"There is not a single man in the Cabinet of the slightest influence," she continued, "who will take this affair seriously. Lord Esherville assured me solemnly that the whole affair was absurd and impossible. Polloch declares that we have been brought to the brink of war with Germany twice already, through treating her overtures with too much suspicion. He is absolutely determined that the mistake shall not be repeated."
"How about the massing of troops on the French frontier?" I asked.
"Ordinary manoeuvres," Lady Dennisford said. "The whole proceeding is absolutely open."
"And the reception of the Prince of Normandy by the Emperor?"
"An act of private courtesy. He ridicules the idea of German interference in French politics."