Seaman was thoughtful.

“There is no doubt,” he said, “that his departure was indicative of a certain distrust in us.  He came to find out something, and I suppose he found it out.  I envy you your composure, my friend.  We live on the brink of a volcano, and you shoot pheasants.”

“We will try a partridge for a change,” Dominey observed, swinging round as a single Frenchman with a dull whiz crossed the hedge behind them and fell a little distance away, a crumpled heap of feathers.  “Neat, I think?” he added, turning to his companion.

“Marvellous!” Seaman replied, with faint sarcasm.  “I envy your nerve.”

“I cannot take this matter very seriously,” Dominey acknowledged.  “The fellow seemed to me quite harmless.”

“My anxieties have also been aroused in another direction,” Seaman confided.

“Any other trouble looming?” Dominey asked.

“You will find yourself minus another guest when you return this afternoon.”

“The Princess?”

“The Princess,” Seaman assented.  “I did my best with her last night, but I found her in a most peculiar frame of mind.  We are to be relieved of any anxiety concerning her for some time, however.  She has decided to take a sea voyage.”

“Where to?”

“Africa!”

Dominey paused in the act of inserting a cartridge into his gun.  He turned slowly around and looked into his companion’s expressionless face.

“Why the mischief is she going out there?” he asked.

“I can no more tell you that,” Seaman replied, “than why Johann Wolff was sent over here to spy upon our perfect work.  I am most unhappy, my friend.  The things which I understand, however threatening they are, I do not fear.  Things which I do not understand oppress me.”

Dominey laughed quietly.

“Come,” he said, “there is nothing here which seriously threatens our position.  The Princess is angry, but she is not likely to give us away.  This man Wolff could make no adverse report about either of us.  We are doing our job and doing it well.  Let our clear consciences console us.”

“That is well,” Seaman replied, “but I feel uneasy.  I must not stay here longer.  Too intimate an association between you and me is unwise.”

“Well, I think I can be trusted,” Dominey observed, “even if I am to be left alone.”

“In every respect except as regards the Princess,” Seaman admitted, “your deportment has been most discreet.”

“Except as regards the Princess,” Dominey repeated irritably.  “Really, my friend, I cannot understand your point of view in this matter.  You could not expect me to mix up a secret honeymoon with my present commitments!”

“There might surely have been some middle way?” Seaman persisted.  “You show so much tact in other matters.”

“You do not know the Princess,” Dominey muttered.

Rosamund joined them for luncheon, bringing news of Stephanie’s sudden departure, with notes and messages for everybody.  Caroline made a little grimace at her host.