"And then you are to pass the good news on to him?"
She nodded. "He says that if I let him know at once, he will arrange to get you safely out of the country."
I lay back in the chair and laughed out loud.
Joyce, who was still sitting on the arm, looked down happily into my face. "Oh," she said, "I love to hear you laugh again." Then, slipping her hand into mine, she went on: "I suppose he means to arrange it so that it will look as if you had been caught by accident while he was trying to help you."
"I expect so," I said. "I should be out of the way again then, and you would be so overcome by gratitude—Oh, yes, there's quite a Georgian touch about it."
The sharp tinkle of an electric bell broke in on our conversation. Joyce jumped up from the chair, and for a moment both remained listening while "Jack" answered the door.
"I know who it is," whispered Joyce. "It's old Lady Mortimer. She had an appointment for one o'clock."
"But what have you arranged to do?" I asked. "There's no reason you should put all your people off. I can go away for the time, or stop in another room, or something."
"No, no; it's all right," whispered Joyce. "I'll tell you in a minute."
She waited until we heard the front door shut, and then coming back to me sat down again on my knee.