“You will tell me if she says anything about me?” she added hurriedly under her breath.

“Of course I will. Shall I see you to-morrow?”

“Do. I shall be shopping in Bond Street in the morning. Why not meet me at Asprey’s at twelve?”

“I will. By the way, Captain Preston inquired for you this morning, when I met him in Regent Street.”

“Captain Preston?” Mrs. Mervyn-Robertson repeated with a puzzled look. “Who is he? I seem to remember the name.”

“Don’t you recollect my introducing him to you about nine months ago? We all had lunch together at the Ritz—​Louie was there, and Mrs. Hartsilver and Yootha Hagerston, and afterwards we went on to your house to play bridge and listen to music, and so on.”

“Of course, now I remember perfectly. A deadly dull person, wasn’t he?”

“He had been badly wounded and was only just out of hospital. You will find him less dull now, I think.”

“Possibly, but I am not very anxious to renew the acquaintanceship. He is one of the people one prefers to drop.”

“He wouldn’t like to hear that,” La Planta answered with a laugh. “It struck me he was greatly attracted by you that day, but tried not to show it.”