Those minutes were slow-footed, but at last he closed the watch with a snap. He called to a waitress visible at the end of a long passage. The girl happened to be his friend of tea-time.
“Would you like to earn another half crown?” he asked.
She had wit enough to grasp essentials, and it was abundantly clear that this man was not her lawful quarry.
“Yes—sir,” she said.
“Take it, then, and tell the elderly lady belonging to my party—she is somewhere inside—that Fitzroy says he cannot wait any longer. Use those exact words—and be quick!”
The girl vanished. An irate yet dignified Mrs. Devar came out.
“Do I understand——” she began wrathfully.
“I hope so, madam. Unless you get in at once I intend going to Bristol, or elsewhere, without you.”
“Or elsewhere?” she gasped, though some of her high color fled under his cold glance.
“Precisely. I do not intend to abandon Miss Vanrenen.”