"Never 'eard in me life of a corrupt Adler. What's your business over 'ere?"
"This lady," Napier intervened, "came into the family of Sir William and Lady McIntyre as a governess."
"She has become a valued personal friend," Miss Ellis put in stiffly. "Haven't you heard that by telephone? You have only to ring up Sir William himself—"
"We are not supposed to take our information by telephone. How long do you want to stay in this country?"
"She lives here, as I've told you," said Napier, "in the family of—"
The interrogatory went on, Nan more and more furious, appealing silently to Napier from time to time; Miss Greta taking it all with a dignity that made even Napier feel that he had never yet seen her to such advantage. The inspector, too, must in his way have felt that this foreigner who had accused him of being a German (him, James Adler, for the love of God!) and had accused the Adlers of being corrupted, was somehow getting the best of the interview. He was already accustomed (and the war was as yet counted by weeks) to seeing the few Germans who had presented themselves to be registered adopt an attitude either humorous (accompanied by offers of cigars), or uneasy, or tending toward the apologetic. Napier was sure that Adler lorded it a little even over people who knew how to treat an inspector proper.
"I don't see how you can stay here at all now they've made this into a proscribed area," he said with a touch of pride at being inspector of a place so distinguished.
"Oh, so they have!" Miss Greta smiled. "I ought to have remembered, when Sir William took the trouble to see about a special permit." She opened a bag and took out a paper.
Inspector Adler looked at it with suspicion. Just this kind of case evidently hadn't come his way before.
"Maybe it's regular," he said cautiously as he handed the paper back. "Better take care of it. You'll need it if you do stay and ever want permission to go outside the five-mile radius."