As she stepped out upon the richly carpeted passage that led to her own door, she looked round in the half-formed expectation that Lady Frances Hope might be waiting for her outside her rooms; but almost at once she dismissed the idea. English people were not demonstrative! She would find Lady Frances awaiting her beside a cosy tea-table—or a bright fire! With the haste of anticipation, she crossed the corridor, and pressed the electric bell.
There was a slight delay before the summons was answered; then the door was opened by a well-dressed, unemotional-looking maid.
Clodagh stepped forward.
"I am Mrs. Milbanke—your mistress," she said quickly.
The woman looked at her without curiosity.
"Will you kindly walk in, madam?" she said. "I hope you will find everything in order."
A chill—a chill that painfully suggested home-sickness—fell upon Clodagh; but she thrust it resentfully aside and entered the pretty panelled hall of the flat.
"Where is Lady Frances Hope?" she asked, pausing just inside the threshold.
The maid came forward respectfully, but without enthusiasm.
"Her ladyship has not been here to-day, madam. Can I attend to you, madam, until your maid arrives?"