"That is beside the point," she remarked.
"Not at all. It is the centre and crux of the situation. Do say you are disengaged for the next!" His manner became almost boyishly eager. He had shed his drawl like a garment. "Say it!" he insisted.
She stood in the doorway as one halting between two opinions. "But if I am not disengaged?" she said.
He laughed. "There is a remedy for that, I fancy. And the Queen can do no wrong. Don't be a slave to the great god Convention! He's such a hideous bore."
His bold dark eyes smiled freely into hers. It was evident that he wasted little time before the shrine of the deity he condemned. But for all their mastery, they held a certain persuasive charm as well. She hesitated a moment longer—and was lost.
"Well, where shall we go?"
"I know of an excellent sitting-out place if your majesty will deign to accompany me," he said, "a corner where one can see without being seen—always an advantage, you will allow."
"You seem to know this place rather well," she observed, as she suffered him to lead her away in triumph.
He smiled shrewdly. "A wise general always studies his ground," he said.