The slight pressure of his arm directed her towards the door. She yielded to it instinctively, with an abrupt feeling that the matter had been taken out of her hands.
He went with her into the passage, and they stood for a moment together under the flickering lamp.
"Bunny in bed?" he asked.
"Yes," she said.
He was still faintly smiling. "You go to bed too, my girl!" he said. "I'll settle this old firebrand."
"Don't--quarrel with him, Jake!" she said nervously.
"What should I quarrel about?" said Jake. "Good night, forlorn princess!"
His voice had a note in it that was almost motherly. She went, from him with a distinct sense of comfort. His touch had been so strong and withal so gentle.
As for Jake, he turned back into the room with the utmost confidence and shut himself in with an air of decision.
"Now, sir," he said, "if you've any complaint to make, p'raps you'll be good enough to mention it to me right now, and I'll deal with the same. I'm not going to have my girl bullied any more."