Fay moistened his lips and leaned back against the cushions. Saidee had offered a naïve explanation which hardly rang true. She had not explained how clothes and a King’s messenger happened to be in a rather smart Richmond Hill villa.
“Oh, you’re too deep for me,� he said frankly. “I’ll take your word, Saidee. I always have. Come across with the badge and the diagram of the embassy. Sir Richard said I would get them here at Number 4.�
“What time is it?�
“Almost daybreak,â€� he said, glancing from the dial of his watch to the windows. “I haven’t had a bit of sleep since the screw woke me up this—yesterday morning, and told me to get my clothes on. Think how I felt!â€�
“The screw?�
“Yes! The damn blear-eyed, sneaking cockney who counted me so often I thought he’d wear my buttons off. Five counts a day in Dartmoor, Saidee.�
“Do you think it pays?�
“You’re no one to ask me that!� Fay shot the statement through clean, white teeth, then studied its effect on the girl at his side.
She tapped the point of her slipper upon the rug, rose, glanced toward the half-door to the butler’s pantry, and said:
“I’ve squared it, Chester. Come, and I’ll make some tea and a little lunch. I want to show you how quickly one can climb up when they quit fighting, fighting the police of the world.�