'Has Miss Payne come this morning?' he asked casually of the girl,
patting the poster like an artist absorbed in his work.
It was a reckless question. He well knew that in half an hour the whole
basement would be aware that Mr. Hugo had asked after Miss Payne, but he
scorned the whole basement.
'Miss who, sir?'
'Miss Payne, of the millinery department.'
'A tall young lady, sir?'
'Yes.'
'With chestnut hair?'
'Now you have me,' he lied.
'I fancy I know who you mean, sir; and now I come to think of it, I
don't think she has.'
The waitress spoke in an apologetic tone, and looked at the clock with
an apologetic look. She was no fool, that waitress.
'Thank you.'
As he left the room Albert Shawn entered by the other door, and,
perceiving nobody but the waitress, kissed the waitress, and was kissed
by her heartily.
Hugo's deportment was debonnair, but his heart had seriously sunk. Just
as he had before been quite sure that Camilla would come as usual, now
he was quite sure that she would not come as usual. Ever since he had
learnt from Ravengar that Tudor had been ignorant of Ravengar's presence
in the flat, and that Ravengar had had to 'dispose of' the housekeeper,
a horrid suspicion had lurked at the back of his mind, and now this
suspicion sprang out upon his hopes of Camilla's arrival, and fairly
strangled them.
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