lord chandler suppressed a sigh. how he dreaded the next few days, with the prospect of a new war to disturb his peaceful existence.
what a damned bore mr mahmoud was! and the people he would have to deal with in the next few days as war was declared - or averted, as the case might be - would be even bigger bores, with even less polished manners.
how had he allowed himself to be ensnared in this sorry pertubation? and so close - only a few months, from his expected retirement!
how he wished he were anywhere but where he was!
how he wished he were anybody but who he was!
perhaps, lord chandler mused, some kindly souls , or desperate anarchists, will break into mrs foster’s house tonight and carry me away. carry me away anywhere, so long as i do not have to deal with the likes of mr mahmoud!
he smiled inwardly at his daydreams. what was there to do but soldier on?
as lord chandler thought his thoughts, mrs foster was engaging the attention of mr mahmoud with her superlative brand of idle chatter. that, at least, was something to be grateful for.
further down the table, mary was continuing her disquisition on the early history of humankind.
“and in the empire of mu, on the other side of the earth, developments similar to those in atlantis proceeded. in atlantis the primary cause was the desire to breed strong male slaves to build a great pyramid in which to bury the great empress sophonisba, rather than to breed them to fight in the arena, but the result was the same.
in both atlantis and mu, two oppposing parties formed. in atlantis they were styled the red party and the green party, and in mu the sun party and the moon party, but the issue at debate was the same - whether the increased breeding of powerfully built male slaves rerpesented a threat to the stability of the empires.
in both ermpires, the more optimistic side pooh-poohed the idea that men, no matter how physically powerful, could ever develop the brain power, or the ability to organize themselves, to represent any threat to their female superiors.
and the other side thought it best not to tempt fate, but to be sure men remained in their inferior state, as nature intended.”
mary paused, and took a sip of water.
“but this is amazing!” mrs stafford exclaimed. “it explains so much!”
“it explains everything!” cried mademoiselle feval.
meanwhile, at the other end of the table, the young duke was continuing his friendly chat with joe, warning to his theme of the adventurous life..
“so,” the duke was saying to joe in his most amiable manner, “just because you have never had any great adventures yet does not mean you can not have any. do you know, i think i might have just the thing for you. if you are interested, of course. what do you say?”
“i don’t know,” joe replied. “i am a little short of cash right now. i don’t know if i could afford to go any adventure.”
“but that is no problem!” the duke exclaimed. “just the opposite! we - uncle and i - can make it well worth your while. now - “ the duke lowered his voice, although none of the other guests had been paying any attention to their conversation - “surely you have noticed the strong resemblance between us - we might as well be twins - “
but at that moment there was a loud crash from the adjoining room.
the diners all turned and beheld rogers, the under-butler, standing in the doorway with a sirrowful expression on his face.
“i am sorry to interrupt, madam, but something has come up,” rogers addressed mrs foster.
behind rogers were three men in dark coats - with pistols in their hands! a large man in the center, obviously the leader, with two confederates, one of whom mrs stafford was mortified to see was mr stafford! he had a hat pulled down over his face, and she hoped that mrs foster and the other guests would not recognize him.
the big man was speaking. “i am afraid i am going to have to ask lord chandler and mr mahmoud to come with us. the rest of you just sit tight and you will be as right as raindrops. jem, check them and see if any of them are packing.”
“that hardly seems likely,” jeremy drawled.
“i know, but you can’t be too careful.”
mademoiselle feval turned to the duke, and to joe.
“can’t somebody do something?” she asked.
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