"Call him Lord Kenya," said the Saint. "She won't look him up in Debrett while you're there. I'll say we were dining together and I couldn't shake you off."
At that point it all looked almost tediously straightforward, a commonplace exploit with nothing but the size of the prize to make it memorable. And when Simon arrived in Berkeley Square on the date of his invitation it seemed easier still; for Mrs. Dempster-Craven, as he had expected, was proudly sporting the Star of Mandalay on her swelling bosom, set in the centre of a pattern of square-cut sapphires in a platinum pendant that looked more like an illuminated sky-sign than anything else. True, there was a large-footed man in badly fitting dress clothes who trailed her around like a devoted wolfhound; but private detectives of any grade the Saint felt competent to deal with. Professionals likewise, given a fair warning — although he was anticipating no professional surveillance that night. But he had not been in the house twenty minutes before he found himself confronting a dark slender girl with merry brown eyes whose face appeared before him like the Nemesis of one of his most innocent flirtations — and even then he did not guess what Fate had in store for him.
At his side he heard the voice of Mrs. Dempster-Craven cooing like a contralto dove:
"This is Miss Rosamund Armitage — a cousin of the Duke of Trayall." And then, as she saw their eyes fixed on each other: "But have you met before?"
"Yes — we have met," said the Saint, recovering himself easily. "Wasn't it that day when you were just off to Ostend?"
"I think so," said the girl gravely.
A plaintive baronet in search of an introduction accosted Mrs. Dempster-Craven from the other side, and Simon took the girl in his arms as the second orchestra muted its saxophones for a waltz.
"This is a very happy reunion, Kate," he murmured. "I must congratulate you."
"Why?" she asked suspiciously.
"When we last met — in that famous little argument about the Kellman necklace — you weren't so closely related to the Duke of Trayall."