message to Williams and asked him to let the prince know the contents. A fortnight later Gordon-Cumming was informed by a lady acquaintance that the events at Tranby Croft were being discussed in London society; he again wrote to Williams to inform him of developments and received an unsatisfactory response. Gordon-Cumming then sent a telegram to the prince asking to meet and informing him that "information I have recently received to the effect that the whole story is the subject of comment at the Turf Club ... the promise of secrecy made has been broken by those concerned". Although Edward acknowledged receipt of the message, he declined to meet. After the negative response from the prince, Gordon-Cumming lost patience and decided to fight the situation. He released his fiancée from their engagement and then visited his solicitors, Wontner & Sons. Wontners had some knowledge of the law surrounding baccarat, as they had previously been involved in the Jenks v. Turpin case. On the advice of his solicitors Gordon-Cumming obtained a written summary of events from Coventry and Williams, and informed his commanding officer, Colonel Stacey, of the situation. Stacey told Gordon-Cumming that, according to Article 41 of the Queen's Regulations, he should already have reported the matter. Gordon-Cumming replied that because the prince had been involved, and because all present had been sworn to secrecy, he had been unable to fulfil the requirement of the Regulations. He then "placed his commission in Stacey's hands pending the result of ... [the] action". As the matter involved the prince, Stacey consulted other officers in the regiment about what should be done, and found that opinion was divided between allowing Gordon-Cumming to remain in the regiment while he defended himself or removing him straight away. The Colonel of the Scots Guards, the prince's younger brother, the Duke of Connaught, was also asked: according to Havers, Grayson and Shankland, the duke "insisted that Gordon-Cumming must be crushed". Stacey disagreed, and thought that the whole story needed to be brought out before such a decision was taken. He reported the situation to the Adjutant-General to the Forces, General Sir Redvers Buller, and requested permission to let Gordon-Cumming retire on half-pay. Buller agreed to the request, but stated that if Gordon-Cumming's legal action failed, the permission would be reviewed. Stacey relayed the message to Gordon-Cumming and told him that signing the note was an error: "Because