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IV

Lady Sedgwick came up to the Reception desk

“Mr Humfries in his office?”

“Yes, Lady Sedgwick” Miss Gorringe looked startled

Lady Sedgwick passed behind the desk, tapped on the door and went in without waiting for any response

Mr Humfries looked up startled

“What—”

“Who engaged the man Michael Gorman?”

Mr Humfries spluttered a little

“Parfitt left—he had a car accident a o We had to replace hiht References OK—ex-Arht perhaps—but that’s all the better soainst him, do you?”

“Enough not to want him here”

“If you insist,” Huive him his notice—”

“No,” said Lady Sedgwick slowly “No—it’s too late for that—Never mind”

Chapter Six

I

“Elvira”

“Hallo, Bridget”

The Hon Elvira Blake pushed her way through the front door of 180 Onslow Square, which her friend Bridget had rushed down to open for her, having been watching through the

“Let’s go upstairs,” said Elvira

“Yes, we’d better Othere’ll get entangled by Mummy”

The two girls rushed up the stairs, thereby circu from her own bedroom just too late

“You really are lucky not to have a et, rather breathlessly as she took her friend into her bedroom and shut the door firmly “I mean, Mummy’s quite a pet and all that, but the questions she asks! Morning, noon and night Where are you going, and who have you met? And are they cousins of somebody else of the same name in Yorkshire? I mean, the futility of it all”

“I suppose they have nothing else to think about,” said Elvira vaguely “Look here, Bridget, there’s soot to help me”

“Well, I will if I can What is it—a man?”

“No, it isn’t, as a et away to Ireland for twenty-four hours or perhaps longer, and you’ve got to cover up for me”

“To Ireland? Why?”

“I can’t tell you all about it now There’s no tiuardian, Colonel Luscombe, at Prunier’s for lunch at half past one”

“What have you done with the Carpenter?”

“Gave her the slip in Debenham’s”

Bridget giggled

“And after lunch they’re takingto live with them until I’m twenty-one”

“How ghastly!”

“I expect I shall e Cousin Mildred is fearfully easy to deceive It’s arranged I’s There’s a place called World of Today They take you to lectures and to Museums and to Picture Galleries and the House of Lords, and all that The whole point is that nobody will knohether you’re where you ought to be or not! We’ll s”

“I expect ill” Bridget giggled “We ht she was so strict Little did she knoe got up to e tried”

Both girls laughed in the pleasant consciousness of successful wickedness

“Still, it did need a lot of planning,” said Elvira

“And soet “Have you heard from Guido?”