He signaled to the first passing cab, jumped in, and told the man to drive quickly to the Laurels, Bayswater.
Arrived there, he was informed by a flunkey that the family was out.
“Since when?” demanded Annesley.
“Last night, sir.”
“Miss Nugent, of Ashbourne, has been staying with Mrs. Norton?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. She and my mistress left for Ashbourne by the six o’clock train last evening,” the footman replied.
Annesley was bitterly annoyed, but the matter could not be helped, of course. Unfortunately, he met one or two people who detained him, and when he reached his hotel it was half-an-hour past noon.
He ran upstairs, and was met in the anteroom by Stimson.
“I was just wondering, Sir Harold, what was best to be done,” he said, “as I did not know what to order for lunch. I never did feel at home in a hotel.”
“Why did you not consult Lady Annesley?” demanded Sir Harold, pettishly, and Stimson stared.