At this moment certain things counted in the Queen's favour. She had lived in such close and reprobated intimacy, for example, with My Lady, that a breaking off of their intercourse would have provoked rather than allayed comment. Then again, as the Admiral had lived at the Embassy ever since he had come to Naples, his continued presence there, instead of on board his flagship, went rather to reassure people, by showing that he had no fears of personal injury from a sudden outbreak or incursion. And Will and I, being in a way his personal attendants, had enjoyed the run of the Palace so much, that our constant presence there went rather to show that nothing particular was happening. Even Will's attachment to Donna Rusidda, and the unparalleled liberty she allowed herself for an unmarried Sicilian lady of her rank, had its use, though I do not think that Will was aware of the extent to which he played catspaw. I am sure that I was completely in the dark for some days; and it was not until we were lying in the Bay, out of reach of the fort guns, giving fugitives from the wrath to come two days' grace that I came near knowing the whole of the truth. CHAPTER XIX.--How Two Millions and a half of Treasure were smuggled from the Palace to the British Ambassador's. I must confess that in these ten days between the 13th and the 23rd of December, 1798, when the French were coming as quick as they could march to Naples, the wearing of my lieutenant's uniform gave me a vast deal of satisfaction. I only had it the night we sailed to Leghorn, with General Naselli, about whom the Admiral and Captain Troubridge expressed themselves so frankly, and his five thousand Neapolitan braves in the fleet. And at Leghorn we had not been allowed ashore. The Admiral was sick of the wretched business, for Naselli did not do anything, and his whole army would have run away from one of our ship's companies. So this visit to Naples was my first opportunity for flaunting my uniform before the female eye. I walked up from the landing-steps to the Queen's Palace arm-in-arm with Will, as fine as you please. That is to say, Will took my arm in a slightly patronising way, when it pleased him. He was not quite so self-reliant since he had been angling for the graces of a lady. We had the liberty of the Palace--at any rate its ante-chambers and more public parts--and I had suggested this jaunt as the most impressive I could devise for the airing of my uniform. In the old days it would have been sufficient that I had ventured on a suggestion, for Will to snuff it out. But on this occasion he was graciously pleased to accede.