Part 22 (1/2)

”I got what I could, Mademoiselle,” he observed, putting down his burdens. ”Oyster patties, galatine, cheese-cakes, and a bottle of champagne. I hope that will please Mademoiselle?”

”It sounds distinctly pleasing, Jack,” said Joyce gravely. ”But then you always do just what I want.”

The boy flushed with pleasure, and began to lay the table without even so much as bestowing a glance on me. It was easy enough to see that he adored his young mistress--adored her far beyond questioning any of her actions.

All through lunch--and an excellent lunch it was too--Joyce and I were ridiculously happy. Somehow or other we seemed to drop straight back into our former jolly relations, and for the time I almost forgot that they had ever been interrupted. In spite of all she had been through since, Joyce, at the bottom of her heart, was just the same as she had been in the old days--impulsive, joyous, and utterly unaffected. All her bitterness and sadness seemed to slip away with her grown-up manner; and catching her infectious happiness, I too laughed and joked and talked as cheerfully and unconcernedly as though we were in truth back in Chelsea with no hideous shadow hanging over our lives. I even found myself telling her stories about the prison, and making fun of one of the chaplain's sermons on the beauties of justice. At the time I remembered it had filled me with nothing but a morose fury.

It was the little clock on the mantlepiece striking a quarter to three which brought us back to the realities of the present.

”I must go, Joyce,” I said reluctantly, ”or I shall be running into some of your d.u.c.h.esses.”

She nodded. ”And I've got to do my hair by three, and turn myself back from Joyce into Mademoiselle Vivien--if I can. Oh, Neil, Neil; it's a funny, mad world, isn't it!” She lifted up my hand and moved it softly backwards and forwards against her lips. Then, suddenly jumping up, she went into the next room, and came back with my hat and stick.

”Here are your dear things,” she said; ”and I shall see you tomorrow evening at Tommy's. I shan't leave him a note--somebody might open it; I shall just let you go and find him yourself. Oh, I should love to be there when he realizes who it is.”

”I know just what he'll do,” I said. ”He'll stare at me for a minute; then he'll say quite quietly, 'Well, I'm d.a.m.ned,' and go and pour himself out a whisky.”

She laughed gaily. ”Yes, yes,” she said. ”That's exactly what will happen.” Then with a little change in her voice she added: ”And you will be careful, won't you, Neil? I know you're quite safe; no one can possibly recognize you; but I'm frightened all the same--horribly frightened. Isn't it silly of me?”

I kissed her tenderly. ”My Joyce,” I said, ”I think you have got the bravest heart in the whole world.”

And with this true if rather inadequate remark I left her.

I had plenty to think about during my walk back to Victoria. Exactly what result the sharing of my secret with Tommy and Joyce would have, it was difficult to forecast, but it opened up a disquieting field of possibilities. Rather than get either of them into trouble I would cheerfully have thrown myself in front of the next motor bus, but if such an extreme course could be avoided I certainly had no wish to end my life in that or any other abrupt fas.h.i.+on until I had had the satisfaction of a few minutes' quiet conversation with George.

I blamed myself to a certain extent for having given way to Joyce.

Still, I knew her well enough to be sure that if I had persisted in my refusal she would have stuck to her intention of trying to help me against my will. That would only have made matters more dangerous for all of us, so on the whole it was perhaps best that I should go and see Tommy. I had not the fainest doubt he would be anxious enough to help me himself if I would let him, but he would at least see the necessity for keeping Joyce out of the affair. We ought to be able to manage her between us, though when I remembered the obstinate look in her eyes I realized that it wouldn't be exactly a simple matter.

I stopped at a book-shop just outside Victoria, which I had noticed on the previous evening. I wanted to order a copy of a book dealing with a certain branch of high explosives that I had forgotten to ask McMurtrie for, and when I had done that I took the opportunity of buying a couple of novels by Wells which had been published since I went to prison. Wells was a luxury which the prison library didn't run to.

With these tucked under my arm, and still pondering over the unexpected results of my chase after George, I continued my walk to Edith Terrace. As I reached the house and thrust my key into the lock the door suddenly opened from the inside, and I found myself confronted by the apparently rather embarra.s.sed figure of Miss Gertie 'Uggins.

”I 'eard you a-comin',” she observed, rubbing one hand down her leg, ”so I opened the door like.”

”That was very charming of you, Gertrude,” I said gravely.

She t.i.ttered, and then began to retreat slowly backwards down the pa.s.sage. ”There's a letter for you in the sittin'-room. Come by the post after you'd gorn. Yer want some tea?”

”I don't mind a cup,” I said. ”I've been eating and drinking all day; it seems a pity to give it up now.”

”I'll mike yer one,” she remarked, nodding her head. ”Mrs. Oldbury's gorn out shoppin'.”

She disappeared down the kitchen stairs, and opening the door of my room I discovered the letter she had referred to stuck up on the mantelpiece. I took it down with some curiosity. It was addressed to James Nicholson, Esq., and stamped with the Strand postmark. I did not recognize the writing, but common-sense told me that it could only be from McMurtrie or one of his crowd.

When I opened the envelope I found that it contained a half-sheet of note-paper, with the following words written in a sloping, foreign-looking hand:

”You will receive either a message or a visitor at five o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Kindly make it convenient to be at home at that hour.”