Page:A M Williamson - The Motor Maid.djvu/86

70 "By Jove, we are a strange pair! This is my first job, too, and so far I 've been able to feed where I chose; but that 's too good to last on tour. One must accommodate oneself to circumstances, and a man easily can. But you—I know how you feel. However, it 's the first step that costs. Do you mind much?"

"It's the stepping in alone that costs the most," I said.

"Well, I 'm only too delighted if I can be of the least use. Let the car rip! I 'll see to her afterward. Now I 'm going to take care of you. You need it more than she does."

What would Lady Kilmarny have said if she had heard my deliberate encouragement of the chauffeur, and his reckless response? What would she have thought if she could have seen us walking into the couriers' dining-room, side by side, as if we had been friends for as many years as we 'd really been acquaintances for minutes, leaving the car he was paid to cherish in his bosom sulking alone!

That sweet lady's face, surprised and reproachful, rose before my eyes, but I had no regrets. And instead of trembling with apprehension when I saw that the couriers' room was empty, I rejoiced in the prospect of lunching alone with the redoubtable chauffeur.

It was too early for the regular feeding hour of the pensionnaires, maids, and valets, and we sat down opposite each other at the end of a long table. A bored young waiter, with little to hope for in the way of pourboires, ambled off in quest of our food. I began to unfasten my head covering, and after a search for various fugitive