This was quite unanswerable, and had the effect of making the Prince at once the centre of attraction. Ermyntrude begged him, in a proprietary tone, to tell the rest of her guests about his dreadful experiences, and he at once began to do so, in a whimsical way which even Connie Bawtry thought very touching, and which made every man present feel a little unwell.
Hugh, who had the advantage of being acquainted with several distinguished Russians, had written the Prince down as spurious within twenty minutes of first setting eyes on him, and could not now resist the temptation of asking him one or two rather awkward questions. The Prince, however, proved to be most adroit in sliding out of uncomfortable corners, and had no difficulty in holding the interest of the female half of his audience. Tom Bawtry, too, who never expected any foreigner to be anything but grotesque, was considerably impressed, and exclaimed at intervals: "By Jove!" and: "Extraordinary fellers those Bolshies must be!"
The thought of the Prince's immeasurable losses had always the power to bring a little spring of tears to Ermyntrude's eyes, but Connie Bawtry's sympathy found a more practical expression. At the earliest opportunity, she told the Prince that if he would only put himself under God-control he would find that all his troubles would vanish. In proof of this statement, she cited the case of a certain business man, who (she said) was actually losing money when he got Changed. "But now," she said, "he's absolutely God-controlled, and his whole business has taken a turn for the better, and he's actually doing very well indeed."
Only two of her hearers appeared to be gratified by this uplifting reflection. Hugh said: 'Connie, I love you dearly; in fact, I regard you almost in the light of an aunt, but you do utter the most repellent remarks."
"Well, I don't know," said Wally facetiously. "It sounds pretty good to me. You'd better try it, Prince."
"Why, it's like a miracle, isn't it?" said Ermyntrude, looking round with a beaming smile. "Fancy!"
For an almost imperceptible moment Hugh's eyes met Mary's across the table. Vicky's voice, holding an imperious note, recalled his attention. "Crack these for me, please."
He took the walnuts from her, and stretched out his hand for the nut-crackers. She said rather belligerently: "I suppose you don't believe in miracles?"
"Not that kind of miracle. Do you?"
"Oh, I think it's lovely!"