The Princess struck her hands together angrily.
“Lotzen! oh, Lotzen!” she exclaimed; “some day—did Moore come on him there? If he did, the some-day is already here.”
“Fortunately, no, since I escaped unharmed.”
“Unfortunately, you mean—it saved to the world another scoundrel.”
“And Ralph would be a fugitive in disgrace,” said Mlle. d’Essoldé.
“With the Lion and a Brigadier’s commission as a punishment,” the Regent answered.
“He wanted to go back, and it was I that kept him.”
“It’s a misfortune—more than a misfortune; it’s almost a calamity—my dear Elise, if ever again your Colonel get so proper an excuse to kill that devil, pray don’t intervene.”
“I’m sorry—very sorry, I’m almost criminally stupid.”
“Nonsense, dear,” said the Princess; “there will be other chances—meanwhile, what happened?... Bit him! Oh, delightful, delightful!”