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“Itismyownbusiness，“sheansweredcoldly。
ThePrinceappearedtobeinacomplaisantmood。
“Come，“hesaid，“theaffairisnotworthaquarrel。Iaskyounoquestions。OnlysincewearehereIproposethatwetestthecookingofthegoodAnnette。Wewilllunchtogether。“
“What，here？“sheanswered。“Absurd。“
“Bynomeans，“heanswered。“Asyoudoubtlessknow，theexterioroftheplaceisentirelymisleading。Thesepeopleareoldservantsofmine。Icananswerfortheluncheon。“
“Youcanalsoeatit，“camethepromptreply。“Iamreturningtothecarriage。“
“But“
Mr。Sabinemergedthroughtheswingdoor。“Yourdiscretion，mydearLucille，“hesaid，smiling，“isexcellent。Theplaceisindeedbetterthanitseems，andAnnette’scookerymaybeallthatthePrinceclaims。YetIthinkIknowbetterplacesforaluncheonparty，andtheventilationisnotofthebest。MayIsuggestthatyoucomewithmeinsteadtotheMilan？“
“Victor！Youhere？“
Mr。Sabinsmiledasheadmittedtheobviousfact。ThePrince’sfacewasasblackasnight。
“Believeme，“Mr。Sabinsaid，turningtothePrince，“Isympathiseentirelywithyourfeelingsatthepresentmoment。Imyselfhavesufferedinpreciselythesamemanner。Thefactis，intrigueinthiscountryisalmostanimpossibility。AtParis，Vienna，Pesth，howdifferent！Youraiseyourlittlefinger，andthedeedisdone。Superfluouspeople-likemyself-areremovedlikethehairsfromyourchin。Buthereintrigueseemsindeedtoexistonlywithinthepagesofashillingnovel，orinacomicopera。Thegentlemanwithahelmetthere，whoregardsussobenignly，willpresentlyearnashillingbycallingmeahansom。Yetineffecthedoesmeafargreaterservice。HestandsforamultitudeofcoldAnglo-Saxonlaws，adamant，incorruptible，inflexible-ascertainasthelawsofNatureherself。IamquiteawarethatbythistimeIoughttobelyinginadarkcellarwithagaginmymouth，orperhapsintheriverwithadaggerinmychest。ButhereinEngland，no！“
ThePrincesmiled-toallappearanceaverygenialsmile。
“Youareright，mydearfriend，“hesaid，“yetwhatyousaypossesses，shallwecallit，asomewhatantediluvianflavour。
Intrigueisnolongeraclumsygameofknifeandstringandbowl。
Itbecomesto-dayagameoffinesse。IcanassureyouthatIhavenodesiretogiveastagewhistleandhaveyouthrottledatmyfeet。
Onthecontrary，Ibegyoutousemycarriage，whichyouwillfindinthestreet。YouwilllunchattheMilanwithLucille，andI
shallretirediscomfitedtoeataloneatmyclub。Butthegameisalongone，mydearfriend。Thenewmethodstaketime。“
“Thisconversation，“Mr。SabinsaidtoLucille，“isinteresting，butitisalittleungallant。Ithinkthatwewillresumeitatsomefutureoccasion。ShallweacceptthePrince’soffer，orshallwebetrulydemocraticandtakeahansom。“
Lucillepassedherarmthroughhisandlaughed。
“YouarerobbingthePrinceofme，“shedeclared。“Letusleavehimhiscarriage。“
ShenoddedherfarewellstoSaxeLeinitzer，whotookleaveofthemwithalowbow。AstheywaitedatthecornerforahansomMr。Sabinglancedback。ThePrincehaddisappearedthroughtheswingdoors。
“Iwantyoutopromisemeonething，“Lucillesaidearnestly。
“Itispromised，“Mr。Sabinanswered。
“Youwillnotaskmethereasonofmyvisittothisplace？“
“Ihavenocuriosity，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“Come！“
Mr。Sabin，contraryt
