Nothing could have suited me better than this arrangement, and for an hour we discussed our embassy and its prospects with the friendliness of two intimates who have shared an adventure.
Then Lady Shafthead entered and said with a smile towards us both,
“Sir Philip has written to Dick.”
“He is forgiven?” I cried.
“He is told to come home.”
“Alone?”
“Yes, alone.”
My face fell for a little, but Lady Shafthead's air reassured me.
“For the present, at all events, alone,” she said.
“And may the present be brief!” I replied. “And now his ambassador must regretfully return to town.”