When the plaudits which greeted the strangers had subsided, and the strenuous handshaking had come to an end, Monck, at a signal from Alondra, conducted them from the great hall to a private suite of apartments.
'These are assigned to you for your own use during your stay here,' he explained. 'I may tell you, in confidence, that they have never been occupied by any save guests of consequence. Therefore, the fact that they have been allotted to you is one more proof that my royal master desires to pay you special honour in the eyes of his people.'
'It is very kind of him,' murmured Armeath, 'but a little embarrassing. It is likely to cause misapprehension. We are no royal visitors, you know.'
'My master knows it also,' Monck reminded him. 'But he is not like other monarchs. You know by this time, for instance, that he never allows any one to address him as "your Majesty." He looks upon it as unnecessary, and resents it as he does any kind of adulation or flattery. He expects that we shall treat him with due respect as the head of the State. If you go beyond that, so far from pleasing him, you only offend him.'
'And if you do less,' observed Gerald, 'why then'——
'I cannot tell you what would happen,' returned Monck drily. 'So far as my experience extends, I have never seen it attempted.'
'Truly, these are sumptuous quarters,' said Armeath, gazing round at the richly furnished rooms.
'You will find your sleeping apartments equally comfortable, with marble baths attached, where you can have a swim before breakfast if it so please you. Also, you will see there is an ample wardrobe from which to select your Court dress'——
'Eh, what's that? Are we to put on Court dress, sir?' Jack stared, and looked first at the engineer and then at his guardian in serio-comic distress. 'Must we do that? We've never been used to that sort of thing, you know!'
'What does that matter?' said Gerald. 'When one goes to Rome one must do as Rome does.'