“If you’d taken my advice,” said Lord Manton, “and married Miss Blow half an hour ago, you wouldn’t be in this difficulty now. Your course would have been perfectly plain. You’d simply have referred the other ladies to Miss Blow. She would have dealt with them, and not allowed them to do you any harm. However, I don’t want to rub in your past mistakes. The only course open to you now is to introduce these three to Miss Blow and let them talk the matter over quietly together while you get Mrs. Patsy Devlin to join them.” Wilkins entered the room while Lord Manton was speaking. “There are some ladies to see your lordship,” he said. “To see me? To see Mr. Goddard, you mean.” “It was your lordship they asked for.” “There must be some mistake,” said Lord Manton. “Go to them again, Wilkins, and say that Mr. Goddard is here and will be delighted to see them.” “I don’t see what good that will be,” said Mr. Goddard. “Wait a minute.” But Wilkins was gone. Mr. Goddard made a protest. “Why did you give me away like that?” he asked. “If you hadn’t told them I was here, they would never have thought of asking for me.” “I gave you away to save myself,” said Lord Manton. “I always give other people away when there’s any kind of unpleasantness going on. That has been a fixed rule of mine through life, and I’ve always found it work well.” “Beg pardon, my lord,” said Wilkins, who returned, “but the ladies say it’s your lordship they want to see; but they’ll be very glad to meet Mr. Goddard too.” “Did you ask their business, Wilkins?” “I did, my lord. They said they heard that you were a magistrate, and----” “That,” said Lord Manton, “sounds about as bad as anything could be. How many ladies were there, Wilkins?” “Three, my lord.” “The whole three,” said Mr. Goddard. “I told you so.” “Where have you put them, Wilkins?” “I showed them into the big drawing-room, my lord. The other lady was in----” “Well, go and change them out of that into the small drawing-room. Or, wait a minute. It may be easier to move Miss Blow. Go and put her into the big drawing-room along with the other three. Then shut the door and leave them. Do you think you can manage that, Wilkins?” “I could try, my lord.” “Very well. Go and try. And if you succeed, don’t go to them again until they’ve rung the bell at least a dozen times.” “Certainly not, my lord.” “It’s rather hard on a man of my age,” said Lord Manton, “to be hunted out of my own house in this way by a lot of strange women. I’m not blaming you, Goddard. All the same, if you had been reasonable about Miss Blow we wouldn’t be in the position we are. Now, of course, there’s nothing for it but to fly. It’s very undignified for me, being a peer and that sort of thing. It will also, I’m afraid, be most uncomfortable. I mind that much more than the humiliation. But there’s nothing else for it. If I stay here they’ll catch me sooner or later.” “What will you do?”