Philippa shrugged her shoulders and made a determined move towards the bell. The intruder, however, barred her way. She looked up into his face and found it difficult to maintain her indignation. His expression, besides being distinctly pleasant, was full of a respectful admiration.
“Will you please let me pass?” she insisted.
“Madam,” he replied, “I am afraid that it is your intention to ring the bell.”
“Of course it is,” she admitted. “Don't dare to prevent me.”
“Madam, I do not wish to prevent you,” he assured her. “A few moments' delay—that is all I plead for.”
“Will you explain at once, sir,” Philippa demanded, “what you mean by forcing your way into my house in this extraordinary fashion, and by locking that door?”
“I am most anxious to do so,” was the prompt reply. “I am correct, of course, in my first surmise that you are Lady Cranston—and you Miss Fairclough?” he added, bowing ceremoniously to both of them. “A very great pleasure! I recognised you both quite easily, you see, from your descriptions.”
“From our descriptions?” Philippa repeated.
The newcomer bowed.
“The descriptions, glowing, indeed, but by no means exaggerated, of your brother Richard, Lady Cranston, and your fiancé, Miss Fairclough.”