The Beautiful Lady smiled again.
"I think I know who you are," she said. "You are called Tommy."
"Yes," admitted Philip apprehensively. "Only sometimes," he hastened to add.
"I expect you have a grander name for state occasions," said the Beautiful Lady.
Philip might have mentioned that he possessed several, but he had the good sense merely to nod his head.
"Are your parents at home?" continued the visitor.
"I am afraid there is nobody at home but me," replied Philip, nerving himself to shut the door.
"That is capital," said the Beautiful Lady. "It is you whom I want to talk to particularly. So I am going to ask you to entertain me until your father and mother come home. Will you?"
Unconscious of the length of the visit to which she had committed herself, the lady walked into the hall.
Philip swiftly reviewed the essential features of the situation. The most obvious and pressing was the fact that a female had gained admittance to Holly Lodge. The second followed as a corollary—she must be ejected before Uncle Joseph returned. That would not be for a couple of hours at least. Surely he could get rid of her by that time. He led the intruder into the library—there was no drawing-room at Holly Lodge—and begged her to be seated. Then he installed himself upon the edge of a chair on the other side of the fireplace and took feverish counsel within himself.