“Yes, Miss Jordan,” Gretchen grinned happily.
“After this beastly business is over,” Dorothy went on, “we’ll be Gretchen and Dorothy to each other.”
The other girl looked a trifle embarrassed. “But I’m only a chambermaid, Miss Jordan,” she said shyly.
“Don’t be silly!” Dorothy waved away the argument with a sweep of her spoon. “You’re proving yourself a real friend—and that’s that.”
“Very well, Miss Jordan.”
“Now pin back your ears, Gretchen.” Dorothy lifted the cover from her scrambled eggs. “I am taking my cousin, Janet Jordan’s place as Mrs. Lawson’s secretary. Nobody in this house knows who I am except Mr. Tunbridge, nor must they be given the slightest hint that I am anybody but Janet Jordan. As you’ve probably guessed, Janet and I look almost exactly alike. Our mothers were twins and that probably accounts for it.”
“Gee—” breathed Gretchen. “It’s just like a story in a book!”
Dorothy bit into a slice of buttered toast. “Maybe it is,” she admitted, speaking with her mouth full. “But the point is that you and I are living this story and it may come to a very abrupt and unpleasant ending unless we’re both terribly careful. Let’s see—where was I? Oh, yes. Mr. Tunbridge and I are working together on this case, working for the United States Government.”
“Secret Service?” asked Gretchen in an awed whisper.
“Yes.”