"Don't be a silly idiot. It's not so dark as all that."
"I was alluding to the difficulties confronting me as the result of the peculiar position in which I find myself situated, your lordship."
"What did he say?" asked the voice of Mrs. Waddington.
"Something about his peculiar position."
"Why is he in a peculiar position?"
"Ah! There you have me."
"Let me talk to the man."
There was a scuffling noise, followed by a heavy fall and a plaintive cry from a female in distress.
"I knew that chair would break if you stood on it," said Lord Hunstanton. "I wish I could have had a small bet on that chair breaking if you stood on it."
"Wheel the bed under the window," replied the indomitable woman beside him. She had lost an inch of skin from her right ankle, but her hat was still in the ring.