“Toby dear,” she purred, “I left my coat in the car.”
“That’s right,” said her squire. “I saw you. Hangin’ over the door.”
“If I had it, Toby, I could make it into a pillow and go to sleep—too.”
“So you could,” said Toby.
There was a silence.
“But—but it’s in the car, Toby dear.”
“I know,” murmured Rage. “Hangin’ over the door.” He sighed. “If you do
go and get it, you might bring me back my pouch. But don’t go on
purpose.”
There was another silence.
“Are you sure,” ventured Miss Voile, “that you aren’t confusing ordinary
politeness with love?”
“Positive,” said Toby. “You’re proving me, you are. Shove your little
face down on the broom, sweetheart, and I’ll tell you a fairy-tale.”
A silence, succeeded by a rustling, suggested that Cicely had
capitulated.
“Go on,” she said presently.
“There was once,” said Toby, “a King: and he had a daughter who was as
lovely as the dawn. That’s why they called her Sunset. She attracted
like anything—especially the Master of the Horse. Well, one day, just
as the King was about to sack the Master of the Horse for being
attracted, a voice said, ‘You’d better not.’
“‘Who’s that?’ said the King, looking all round the room.
“‘I rather think,’ said the Master of the Horse, ‘that it’s my uncle. He
said that if ever I was in trouble I was to rub this ring, and I’ve just
rubbed it.’
“‘Oh, did he?’ said the King. ‘I mean, have you? Then it was a piece of
great presumption. And now push off.’
“‘Very good, sir,’ said the Master of the Horse. ‘Good-bye.’
“‘Good-bye,’ said the King.
“‘Good luck,’ said the voice.
“‘You shut your face,’ said the King. ‘What’s all that shouting about?’
“Nobody answered him this time, but he had not long to wait. In fact,
the door had hardly closed behind the Master of the Horse when it was
burst open by the Lord Chamberlain.
“‘Sunset’s gone into a trance,’ he announced. ‘You know. A sort of
swoon, only worse.’
“‘Curse these enchanters,’ said the King, catching up his crown. ‘Where
is she?’
“‘In the forecourt,’ said the Lord Chamberlain. ‘She was playing with
the State bloodhound when all of a sudden she collapsed. She’s still got
the dog by the ear.’
“This was true. What was more to the point was that the physicians
advised that, since she was under a spell, any attempt to interfere with
her grip would probably prove fatal.
“The position was really extremely awkward.
“With incredible difficulty Sunset was got to bed, while the dog, who
was becoming every moment more suspicious and impatient of his
detention, was persuaded to lie upon a divan by her side.
“Then a council was held.
“Violence to the bloodhound seemed futile, and mutilation as bad. If
Sunset was destined for an indefinite period to grasp a piece of flesh,
it seemed best that it should be alive. The dog, however, would require
exercise—an obviously delicate business, since the sleeping princess
must accompany it upon its rambles.
“‘The dog,’ said the King, ‘must be duly tended and controlled. Who’s to
do it?’
“‘Nothing doing,’ said the Lord Chamberlain. ‘I’d rather resign. The
brute jolly near had me when we were going upstairs.’
“‘He never did like me,’ said the Comptroller hurriedly. ‘Always growls
when I pass.’
“‘That’s nothing to go by,’ said the King. ‘Heaps of dogs——’
“‘It’s good enough for me,’ said the Comptroller shortly.
“‘The truth is,’ said the Treasurer, ‘that he’s not a nice dog. There’s
only one man who ever has got on with him, and that’s the Master of the
Horse.’
“‘But I’ve just fired him,’ said the King. ‘Besides, he’s got off with
Sunset. That’s what I fired him for.’
“Here the door was opened, and a servant put in his head.
“‘Excuse me, sir,’ he said, ‘but I think the dog wants to go out.’
“By the time the King, with his daughter in his arms, had been twice
round the forecourt, over the drawbridge, down a steep bank into a
ploughed field through a brook, in and out of an orchard, over two walls
and along an evil-smelling drain, his mind was made up.
“As the Court arrived—
“‘Issue two orders,’ he said faintly. ‘First, all cats are to be
collected and kept under lock and key until further notice. Penalty for
disobedience, Death.’ He nodded at the bloodhound, who was eating
heartily. ‘God knows where I should be, but for that sheep’s head.’ He
paused to mop his face. ‘Secondly, the Master of the Horse is to be
found forthwith.’
“Half an hour later the two men once more faced each other. The Master
of the Horse had Sunset in his arms, with the dog stretched at his feet.
The King had his cheque-book in his hand.
“‘Supposing,’ said the King, ‘supposing you rubbed that ring.’
“‘Why?’ said the Master of the Horse, glancing at the beautiful face
upon his shoulder. ‘I’m not in any trouble.’
“The King fingered his beard.
“‘You can’t go on like this,’ he observed. ‘It’s—it’s unheard of.’
“‘It is at present,’ was the reply. ‘But it’ll soon get about. You know
what Scandal is.’
“The King rose to his feet and took a short turn.
“When he felt better—
“‘What,’ he said, ‘do you suggest?’
“‘A priest,’ said the Master of the Horse. ‘Oh, and witnesses.’
“After several more turns the King sent for a priest.
“‘After all,’ he said to himself, ‘she can’t respond; so I can always
get it annulled. And what price “undue influence”?’
“At the critical moment, however, Sunset responded heartily. Then she
released the bloodhound and blew her father a kiss.
“‘I’d no idea,’ she said, ‘you could go so well. The way you flew those
walls! But I do wish you’d have that drain cleaned out. I don’t think
it’s healthy.’
“The King was nothing if not a man of action.
“He seized his son-in-law by the ear and fell into a trance.
“This was a real one, and lasted for several days. So the King got a bit
of his own back.
“The first thing he did upon recovery was to make the practice of
ventriloquism a capital crime.”
There was a long silence.