“Mr. Saunders has deceived me,” she announced steadily.  “I leave it to you if his attentions have not been most pronounced.  Of course, if I wanted to, I could show you a transcript of everything he has said to me in the last couple of months.  He didn’t know it, but I managed to get most everything down in shorthand.  I did it at the risk, too, your lordship, of being considered cold and unresponsive by him.  It’s most difficult to take conversation without the free use of your hands, I must say.  But I’ve preserved in my own black and white, every promise he made and—­”

“I’m afraid it won’t be good evidence,” volunteered her lawyer.  “It will have to be substantiated, my dear.”

“Please don’t call me ‘my dear,’ Mr. Britt.  Never you mind about it not being good evidence.  Thomas Saunders won’t enjoy hearing it read in court, just the same.  What I want to ask of you, Lord Deppingham, as a friend, is to give Mr. Britt your deposition regarding Mr. Saunders’s attitude toward me, to the best of your knowledge and belief.  I’ll take it verbatim and put it into typewriting, free of charge.  I—­I don’t see anything to laugh at, Mr. Chase!” she cried, flushing painfully.

“My dear girl,” he said, controlling himself, “I think you are misjudging the magnitude of a lover’s quarrel.  Don’t you think it is rather a poor time to talk breach of promise with the guns of an enemy ready to take a pop at us at any moment?”

“It’s no worse than a charity ball, Mr. Chase,” she said severely.  “Charity begins at home, gentlemen, and I’m here to look out for myself.  No one else will, let me tell you that.  I want to get the deposition of every person in the chateau.  They can be sworn to before Mr. Bowles, who is a magistrate, I’m told.  He can marry people and—­”

“By Jove!” exclaimed Deppingham suddenly.  “Can he?  Upon my soul!”

“His manner changed as soon as that horrid little wife of Selim came to the chateau.  I don’t like the way she makes eyes at him and I told him so this morning, down in the storerooms.  My, but he flew up!  He said he’d be damned if he’d marry me.”  She began to use her handkerchief vigorously.  The men smiled as they looked away.

“I—­I intend to sue him for breach of promise,” she said thickly.

“Is it as bad as all that?” asked Deppingham consolingly.

“What do you mean by ‘bad as all that’?  He’s kissed me time and again, but that’s all.”

“I’ll send for Saunders,” said Deppingham sternly.

“Not while I’m here,” she exclaimed, getting up nervously.

“Just as you like, Miss Pelham.  I’ll send for you after we’ve talked it over with Saunders.  We can’t afford a scandal in the chateau, don’t you know.”

“No, I should think not,” she said pointedly.  Then she looked at Chase and winked, with a meaning nod at the unobserving Deppingham.  Chase followed her into the hall.

“None of that, Miss Pelham,” he said severely.