"Hullo," said a very British voice. "Do you happen to be Ronald West's
wife's cousin?"
Aubrey turned in the doorway, taking stock of his interlocutor. He saw a
well-knit, youthful figure, a keen resourceful face, and a pair of
exceedingly bright brown eyes, unwavering in the steady penetration of
their regard. Already they had taken him in, from top to toe, and were
looking past him in a rapid investigation of as much of his flat as
could be seen from the doorway.
Aubrey was caught!
He had fully intended muffling his electric bell, and not being at home
to visitors.
But this brisk young man, with an atmosphere about him of always being
ten minutes ahead of time, already had one of his very muddy boots
inside the door, and eagerly awaited the answer to his question; so it
was useless to reply to the latter in German, and to bang the former.
Therefore: "I have that honour," replied Aubrey, with the best grace he
could muster.
"Ah! Well, I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I must have a word with
you; and then I am going round to spend the night with Ronnie at his
hotel."
"Come in," said Aubrey, in a low voice; "but we must not talk in the
passage or we shall wake him. I saw he was not fit to be alone, so I
sent to the hotel for his traps, and am putting him up here. He turned
in, half an hour ago, and seemed really inclined to sleep. He was almost
off, when I left him.
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