"Otherwise," said I to myself, "what a charming girl to find in
such a place!"

However, I reminded myself that I had not come here to be charmed, and
proceeded next to take stock of the room.

It was not large, but pleasantly proportioned, low in the ceiling, and
pervaded with a delicate yet distinct flavour of the past, I found myself
instinctively wondering how one could reproduce this particular flavour
on the stage; no armour or tapestry or any of the usual antique
paraphernalia to be allowed, for beyond the thick walls and rather small
windows, it was so difficult to lay one's finger on any one specific
thing that palpably suggested age. Finally I decided that it was
impossible to re-create such an atmosphere. It was compounded of
stillness within and the glimpses of primeval quiet without, of a touch
of comfortable shabbiness, of plenty of elderly books, and of a faint
odour of the dampness of centuries mingled with the scent of honeysuckle.
My suspicions were suddenly lulled, and with that prompt decision which
has landed me in and pulled me out of so many holes, I decided to drop my
German accent. That the charming Miss Rendall might miss it, and wonder
what had become of it, was (I must confess) a reflection which did not
occur to me till afterwards.

Just as I had come to this decision, in walked the laird, and in two
minutes I had come to another decision, which was to adhere to the plan
of campaign I had thought of as I walked, in so far as keeping my
business to myself was concerned. My first impression of Mr. Rendall was
of height, and a certain quiet, formidable quality. He was grey-haired,
with a close-clipped grizzled moustache, loose clothes as though he had