"Jack, he wants to come and talk to me about it," she whispered, her voice quivering with amusement. Then it resumed its firm telephone-tone.
"Yes, certainly," she cried. "I shall be in for the next half-hour. After that? Let me see; about the same time to-morrow morning. You'll come at once then? Au revoir."
Dodo replaced the instrument, and bubbled with laughter.
"Oh, my dear, what fun!" she said. "I adore studying him. I shall get a real glimpse into his mind this morning, and if he annoys me as he did in his letter about the list, he shall get a glimpse into mine. He will probably be very much astonished with what it contains."
It was not long before Lord Cookham arrived. He was pink and large and sleek, and could not possibly be mistaken for anybody else except some eminently respectable butler, in whose care the wine and the silver were perfectly safe. Dodo had not quite finished breakfast when he was announced, and proceeded with it.
"So good of you to come and see me at such short notice," she said. "Do smoke."
He waved away the cigarettes she offered him, and produced a gold case with a coronet on it.
"With your leave, Lady Chesterford," he said, "I will have one of my own."
"Do!" said Dodo cordially. "And light it with one of your own matches. Now about my dance."
He cleared his throat exactly as if he was about to make a speech.