"You, Davie!" she gasped.

Hume went to meet her.

"Yes, Rita," he said. "I hope you are glad to see me."

Mrs. Capella was profoundly agitated, but she held out her hand and
summoned the quick smile of an actress.

"Of course I am," she cried. "I did not know you were in England. Why did
you not let me know, and why are you here?"

"I only returned home three days ago. My journey to Beechcroft was a hasty
resolve. This is my friend, Mr. Reginald Brett. He was just about to
explain to Mr. Capella the object of our visit when you came in."

Neither husband nor wife looked at the other. Mrs. Capella was flustered,
indulging in desperate surmises, but she laughed readily enough.

"I heard a noise in this room, and then the bell rang. I thought something
had happened. You know--I mean, I thought there was no one here."

"I fear that I am the culprit, Mrs. Capella. Your husband was good enough
to invite us to enter by the window, and I promptly disturbed the
household."

Brett's pleasant tones came as a relief. Capella glared at him now with
undisguised hostility, for the barrister's adroit ruse had outwitted him
by bringing the lady from the drawing-room, which gave on to the garden
and lawn at the back of the house.