‘I only meant he had....’
‘Go on.’
‘I thought I detected....’
‘Go on—go on.’
‘That if the Prince wasn’t careful ... there was a sort of incipient hardening of the skin which might lead to what German doctors call a “tail.” It’s a purely technical term. I ... I ... apologise, I’m sure, for having spoken inadvertently.’
‘He ought to be ashamed of himself!’ was the general verdict.
‘What a dreadful thing to happen at a dinner-party!’
‘At Lady Wyse’s too, of all places!’
They all turned their backs on him, and crowded round Dwala, who emerged serenely at this moment from the next room; shaking hands warmly with him, as if he had just achieved a triumph. Mr. Disturnal smiled him a meaning smile as he said good-bye.
Dwala and the Biologist were the last to go.