(He had asked Archie just now in the smoking-room, and he, too, had confessed himself beaten.
Only, he had been quite sure that jenny would get her way and obtain Frank's forgiveness.) Also, in the course of his three-quarters of an hour he had considered, for perhaps the hundredth time since he had come to the age of discretion, what exactly three lives between a man and a title stood for.

Lord Talgarth was old and gouty; Archie was not married, and showed no signs of it; and Frank--well, Frank was always adventurous and always in trouble.
Well, I have set down the points, after all.

But it must not be thought that the gentleman with the pointed brown beard and thoughtful eyes, who at five minutes past twelve went up the two steps into the smoking-room, locked the doors, as he had been directed, took up his candle and went to bed, went with an uneasy conscience, or, in fact, was a villain in any way whatever..