Iolanthe nowhere to be seen.
I returned to the card tables and tapped the old man on his shoulder as he was scooping up the stake he had just won and was stuffing it into his pocket.
He turned on me savagely.
"Well, you drunkard, you!"
"Where is Iolanthe?"
"I don't know. Go find her." And he went on playing.
The other gentlemen looked embarrassed, but acted as though nothing had happened. "Won't you try your luck, young Benedict?" they clamoured.
So I made off with all haste, for I knew my weakness. Had I taken a hand, there would have been another scandal.
I sneaked around outside the dancing hall. I did not feel equal to meeting the glances of the dowagers.
In the corridor a tin kitchen lamp was smoking, from the pantries came the rattle of plates and the giggling of half-drunken kitchen maids.