“Miss Campbell is not a strict chaperone,” he said, “or she would not allow her young ladies to wander on London Bridge late in the afternoon.”
The girls were silent for a moment. They did not wish to be drawn into Marie-Jeanne’s strange secrets and they were of half a mind to confide in Telemac. But Billie remembered her promise and Nancy would say nothing without her friend’s initiative.
“She did not know we were going to London Bridge,” Billie answered evasively. “We shopped for a while. Nancy bought herself a souvenir at an antique shop and then we went to see the bridge. We see many girls walking out alone. Why shouldn’t we?”
Telemac made no reply.
“Have you seen Marie-Jeanne lately?” he asked presently.
Billie looked into his strange eyes. It suddenly occurred to her that he was trying to find out something, and with a certain stubbornness she had always shown when it came to keeping a secret, she replied:
“Marie-Jeanne’s mother does not allow her to come to see us.”
Then Nancy, who had an unconscious instinct for helping her friend, broke in:
“Wouldn’t you like to see my little chalet? It is made of sandalwood lined with blue satin, and it smells deliciously.”
But Telemac was not interested in Nancy’s purchase. Indeed, he seemed strangely different from his usual genial self, and lifting his hat quite formally, he left them at the door of their lodgings and walked hurriedly away.