I'll tell the Count that you all may
start for Vienna tonight. You connect with the Orient express at--"
"Are you mad, highness?" cried Dank, startled out of his dejection.
"What you speak of is impossible--utterly impossible. We cannot
leave you. We were delegated to escort you--"
"I understand all of that perfectly, Dank," interrupted Robin,
suddenly embarrassed, "but don't you see how infernally awkward it
will be for me if Miss Guile does appear, according to plan? She will
find me body-guarded, so to speak, by three surly, scowling
individuals whose presence I cannot explain to save my soul, unless I
tell the truth, and I'm not yet ready to do that. Can't you see what
I mean? How am I to explain the three of you? A hawk-eyed triumvirate
that camps on my trail from morn till night and refuses to budge!
She'll suspect something, old fellow, and--well, I certainly will
feel more comfortable if I'm not watched for the next few days."
"That's the point, highness. You've just got to be watched for the
next few days. We would never dare to show our faces in Graustark
again if we allowed anything to happen to you while you are under our
care.
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