“And, in all this, what am I to do?” he asked bewildered.
The Lady of Lakemere laughed gaily at his embarrassment.
“You are to move in there, at once. Sign the lease for a year. Bagley will take charge of you. There you are to give a jolly house-warming. Call up all your friends. Do not neglect Merriman, Wiltshire, and Rutherstone. You are to be pretty gay. These gentlemen may even bring some of the ladies who wear diamond garter buckles. So much the better!
“When I return to New York, you are to report to me at the ‘Circassia,’ and the serious business of your new life will then begin. The woman whom I will send to you as secretary is thoroughly reliable, and I will answer for her fidelity.”
“The woman?” babbled the astounded Vreeland.
“Yes! Miss Mary Kelly—a talented young business woman of perfect accomplishment, who represents me.” The voice of the lady was cuttingly clear.
“Her slight lameness alone prevents her being placed in some position of the greatest trust. That room only is sacred from all of your rattle-headed social friends. I trust her implicitly.”
“I begin to understand you,” gravely said Vreeland.
“Under the guise of enjoying my life and living up to my prosperity, I am to hide the momentous secret stock business carried on there.”
“Precisely,” soberly said Elaine Willoughby.