CHAPTER XXI
When Nicholas let himself into the Jones mansion on St. Kilda Road with the assistance of Tydvil's latch key, Amy, who had kept dinner back for three-quarters of an hour, was just leaving the dining-room. As she saw him enter, she glanced at the dial of the Spanish mahogany grandfather clock that stood in the wide hall. Its hands showed that the time was twenty-five minutes to nine o'clock.
She opened fire as the sights came on. "This is a nice time to come home, Tydvil, I must say! Especially as you promised me faithfully you would be back to dinner."
Nicholas had placed his coat and hat on a high, carved chair--a Restoration piece. "Are you doing that to provoke me deliberately, Tydvil?" she asked acidly. "Ellen, remove those things!" She pointed to the outraged chair, and
