Gallantry

Oh, I have been drinking, he conceded; I have been drinking with a most commendable perseverance for these fifteen years. But at present I am far from drunk. Simon Orts took a turn about the hall; in an instant he faced her with an odd, almost tender smile, You adorable, empty-headed, pink-and-white fool, said Simon Orts, what madness induced you to come to Usk? You know that Rokesle wants you; you know that you don’t mean to marry him. Then why come to Usk? Do you know who is king in this sea-washed scrap of earth?–Rokesle. German George reigns yonder in England, but here, in the Isle of Usk, Vincent Floyer is king. And it is not precisely a convent that he directs.