"And you do not like England nor Englishmen?"

"I have not said so," she answered; "but here in England I am being
taken care of, kept out of mischief, and sometimes I feel like a
prisoner. It is only that which makes me dislike England. Of Englishmen
I know little, but I have read about them, and they have done some
good, brave deeds. They are, perhaps, just a little conceited with
themselves, don't you think? There is no one quite like an Englishman
it would seem."

"There are all sorts, good and bad," said Ellerey carelessly. "At the
best he wants a lot of beating; at the worst, well, he wants a lot of
beating that way, too. How is it you feel like a prisoner?"

The girl drew herself up to her full height. There was something haughty
in her demeanor, occasioned, perhaps, by the careless way in which he
asked the question. She felt that he was treating her rather like a
spoilt child, while she felt herself a determined woman.

"In my own country I am a princess," she said.

"Indeed?"

"You do not believe me?"

"Why not? You look every inch a princess," he answered.

"It is so like a man to say what he thinks will please," she returned
with a flash in her eyes. "You do not believe me, but you are afraid
to say so. Go down there and ask them."