The Princess was watching him curiously.
"Don't be a fool, Nigel," she said.

"We underrated Engleton, that was all.

If ever a man looked an idiot, he did, and you must remember that we were in a corner.

Yet," she added, leaning a little forward in her chair and gazing with hard, set face into the fire, "it was foolish of me.

With Jeanne to play with, I ought to have had no such difficulties.
I never counted upon the tradespeople being so unreasonable.