“This is where you’ll stay,” announced Dragonfel. “The place isn’t half-bad, as things go, so you ought to make yourselves fairly comfortable in it. You’ll find both hot and cold water in the little ante-room screened off by those peacock-feather portières. Your meals will be brought to you. If you want to read there’s the dictionary.”
“How long are you going to keep us here?” asked Titania, with a sinking of her heart.
“Always, and maybe longer,” was Dragonfel’s gruff response. “Have you brought your knitting with you?”
“If you think you can keep us here against our will,” said Titania, in a decided tone, “you will find that you are very much mistaken.”
“How so?” said Dragonfel contemptuously.
“It won’t be long before the Brownies are here.”
“That’s what I fully expect,” said the enchanter, with a knowing wink, “and after they come there’ll be something doing, believe me!”
He laid great emphasis upon the last two words, and in spite of all her confidence in Florimel and the Brownies Titania was filled with great uneasiness.
But she knew that further words would be wasted on him, so she said nothing more. With Dame Drusilda, Violet, and Daffodil she retired to a corner of the room, as far removed from him as possible, where they discussed among themselves in whispers this new phase of the disagreeable situation.
They hoped that Dragonfel and the rest would go, but still they lingered, and the enchanter at times looked up at the narrow opening cut into the ceiling. Finally he gave expression to a grunt of satisfaction as something he had been watching for met his gaze, and they noticed with him that a golden flood of sunshine was pouring through the opening.