As Alice took the hint and walked away towards the door she heard him calling after her in a kinder tone: “If you should meet any one coming from the direction of Berkeley Square——”
ALICE ANYWHERE BUT IN DOWNING STREET
“I don’t know what business you have here,” the Red Queen was saying, “if you don’t belong to the Cabinet; of course,” she added more kindly, “you may be one of the outer ring. There are so many of them, and they’re mostly so unimportant that one can’t be expected to remember all their faces.”
“What is your business?” asked Alice, by way of evading the question.
“There isn’t any business really,” said the White Queen. “Her Red Majesty sometimes says more than she means. Fancy,” she added eagerly, “I went round in 85 yesterday!”
“Round what?” asked Alice.
“The Links, of course.”
“Talking about a Lynx,” said the Red Queen, “are you any good at Natural History? Take prestige from a Lion, what would remain?”
“The prestige wouldn’t, of course,” said Alice, “and the Lion might not care to be without it. I suppose nothing——”
“I should remain, whatever happened,” said the Red Queen, with decision.