Etchingham.
Or Eve!
[Catherine looks at him gravely, seeing the application to herself of his story.
Colby.
You must congratulate yourself.
Perigal.
Well, my friends, I do. I’m not a high-minded, quixotic fellow like you, and I don’t mind telling you that I find it very agreeable to be Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister. And yet, at the time, if anyone had given me the choice between my present position and a trip across Europe with the object of my affections, I wouldn’t have hesitated.
Colby.
A merciful providence evidently had you under its care.
[Catherine gives a slight start and rises as she hears these words, and looks at him steadily.