I advised Lisa to rest in her own room, instead of shopping, as she would have the long motor run later in the day, and a night journey; but she was dressed and seemed to want to go out. She had things to do, she said, and though she didn’t buy anything when she was with us, while we were at a milliner’s in the Rue de la Paix choosing hats for Aunt Lil, she disappeared on some errand of her own, and only came back just as we were ready to leave the shop. Whatever it was that she had been doing, it had interested her and waked her out of herself, for her eyes looked brighter and she had spots of colour on her cheeks.
Aunt Lil found so much to do, and was sure we could easily carry so many things in the motor-car, that it was a rush to meet Uncle Eric and Lord Bob at the Ritz, by two o’clock. But we did manage it, or nearly. We were not more than ten minutes late, which was wonderful for Aunt Lil: and the short time that we’d kept them waiting wasn’t enough to account for the solemnity of the two men’s faces as they came forward to meet us.
“Something’s gone wrong about the car!” exclaimed Aunt Lil.
“No, the car’s all right,” said Lord Bob. “I’ve got you a chauffeur too, and—”
“Then what has happened? You both look like thunder-clouds, or wet blankets, or something disagreeable. It surely can’t be because you’re hungry that you’re cross about a few minutes.”
“Have you seen a newspaper to-day?” asked Uncle Eric.
“A newspaper? I should think not, indeed; we’ve had too many important things to do to waste time on trifles. Why, has the Government gone out?”
“Ivor Dundas has got into a mess here,” Uncle Eric answered, looking very much worried—so much worried that I thought he must care even more about Ivor than I had fancied.
“Of course it’s the most awful rot,” said Lord Bob, “but he’s accused of murder.”
“It’s in the evening papers: not a word had got into the morning ones,” Uncle Eric went on. “We’ve only just seen the news since we came here to wait for you; otherwise I should have tried to do something for him. As it is, of course I must, as a friend of his, stop in Paris and do what I can to help him through. But that needn’t keep the rest of you from going on to-day as you planned.”