“Popinjays seems severe,” Eddy murmured, in a hard tone.  “However, to get on with this little matter,” he added, turning to one of his two subordinates.  “You will find a military car outside.  Take these men over to the guardroom at the Norwich Barracks.  I have arranged for an escort to see them to town.  Tell the colonel I’ll be over later in the day.”

The Princess rose from the chair into which she had subsided a few moments before.  Dominey turned towards her.

“Princess,” he said, “there can be little conversation between us.  Yet I shall ask you to remember this.  Von Ragastein planned my death in cold blood.  I could have slain him as an assassin, without the slightest risk, but I preferred to meet him face to face with the truth upon my lips.  It was his life or mine.  I fought for my country’s sake, as he did for his.”

The Princess looked at him with glittering eyes.

“I shall hate you to the end of my days,” she declared, “because you have killed the thing I love, but although I am a woman, I know justice.  You were chivalrous towards me.  You treated Leopold perhaps better than he would have treated you.  I pray that I shall never see your face again.  Be so good as to suffer me to leave this house at once, and unattended.”

Dominey threw open the windows which led on to the terrace and stood on one side.  She passed by without a glance at him and disappeared.  Eddy came strolling along the terrace a few moments later.

“Nice old ducks, those two, dear heart,” he confided.  “Seaman has just offered Forsyth, my burly ruffian in the blue serge suit, a hundred pounds to shoot him on the pretence that he was escaping.”

“And what about Schmidt?”

“Insisted on his rights as an officer and demanded the front seat and a cigar before the car started!  A pretty job, Dominey, and neatly cleaned up.”

Dominey was watching the dust from the two cars which were disappearing down the avenue.

“Tell me, Eddy,” he asked, “there’s one thing I have always been curious about.  How did you manage to keep that fellow Wolff when there wasn’t a war on, and he wasn’t breaking the law?”

The young man grinned.

“We had to stretch a point there, old dear,” he admitted.  “Plans of a fortress, eh?”

“Do you mean to say that he had plans of a fortress upon him?” Dominey asked.

“Picture post-card of Norwich Castle,” the young man confided, “but keep it dark.  Can I have a drink before I get the little car going?”

The turmoil of the day was over, and Dominey, after one silent but passionate outburst of thankfulness at the passing from his life of this unnatural restraint, found all his thoughts absorbed by the struggle which was being fought out in the bedchamber above.  The old doctor came down and joined him at dinner time.  He met Dominey’s eager glance with a little nod.

“She’s doing all right,” he declared.