everyone in the room knew clayton was merely frustrated and alarmed by the bitter self-recrimination that had permeated stephen 's voice , but it was nicholas duville who defused the charged atmosphere by interrupting in a humorous drawl , `` in the interest of avoiding a nasty duel between the two of you at dawn , which would force me to arise at a very inconvenient and uncivilized hour in order to act as your joint second , may i respectfully suggest you turn your excellent minds to possible solutions to the problems , rather than dwelling on the cause ? ''