When a woman is bored, or tired, or vexed, or perplexed, or worried, after a quarrel, or before a journey, there is one resource to which she always flies. Miss Stanley rang for tea.
The waiter who announced Mr Ferrier had quite settled in his own mind that in so doing he was ushering in one of the chief characters in a love scene, but when he caught sight of the young man's face as he came from Miss Stanley's presence, he decided that the scene in which Mr Ferrier had just played his part, had not had much love-sweetness about it, at anyrate. Count Litvinoff, coming up the stairs a moment afterwards, met Dick going down, and thought so too.
'Ah! Mr Ferrier,' he said genially; 'we are to be fellow guests to-night, I believe.'
'I think not,' said Dick, shaking hands; 'I shall not be able to come.'
Litvinoff's face fell, and he looked quite naturally grieved.
'How unfortunate,' he said.
'I say,' said Richard, after a minute's pause, 'were you in a place called Spray's Buildings, a turning out of Porson Street, about an hour ago? You'll think it strange of me to ask, but I have a particular reason for wanting to know.'
'Porson Street—Porson Street. I've heard the name somewhere, but I certainly haven't been there this afternoon.'
The Court of St Petersburg had evidently missed a good diplomatist in Count Michael Litvinoff. The lie was admirably told.
'No,' said Richard, 'I didn't suppose you had, but I thought I'd just set my mind at rest about it.'