"That is the point," he interrupted. "It is not your cousin's. It is the lodging of the Maids of Honour."
Yes: he had me there. That was my weak point. But I would not let him see that.
"How was I to understand that distinction? I knocked at the door as peaceably as any man could."
"And after that," he said, smiling a little grimly, "after that, your cousinly affection blinded you."
"Well, that will do," I said.
He smiled again.
"Well; that is your case," he observed. "We will see how His Majesty regards it. For I must tell you, Mr. Mallock, that for five minutes last night it was touch and go whether you were not to be arrested. And I will tell you this too, that if you had not come this morning, you would have been brought."
"As bad as that?" I said, laughing. (But I must confess that his gravity dismayed me a little.)
"As bad as that," he said. "You must go to His Majesty at ten."
"As I arranged," I said.