Mystery of the Inn by the Shore by Florence Warden

Now the intention of the two conspirators, who were conspiring, without Clifford's knowledge, to cure him of his infatuation, was to keep this luckless adventure from coming to his ears. But it leaked out in spite of them; and one evening, when they were enjoying their pipes in the rooms they shared together, they found themselves confronted with King himself, in a state of boiling indignation.

It was in vain they tried to prove to him how laudable their intentions had been, how much for the good of the young lady herself it would have been if they could have cleared up the ugly mystery.