“If I should refuse?” the doctor asked.
The Prince hesitated.
“Do not let us suppose that,” he said. “It is not a pleasant suggestion. I do not think that you mean to refuse.”
“Frankly, I do not,” the doctor answered. “And yet treat it as a whim of mine and answer my question. Supposing I should?”
“The matter would arrange itself in precisely the same way,” the Prince answered. “You would not leave these rooms for two months.”
The doctor leaned back in his chair and laughed shortly.
“This is rather hard luck on Inspector Jacks,” he said. “He paid me ten guineas the other day to lunch with him.”
“Mr. Inspector Jacks,” the Prince remarked, “is scarcely in a position to bid you an adequate sum for your services.”
“It appears to me,” the doctor continued, “that I am kidnapped.”
“An admirable word,” the Prince declared. “At what time do you usually lunch?”