'All right. The girls can have my room to dress up in, and the men-may they use yours, Nigel?'
My dear adopted boy, of course, was present at the beginning of the party and I am bound to say that his conduct was in marked contrast to that of Amabel. He mixed with the others, danced in turn with the young women and in every way comported himself with dignity and discretion. He consented to allow his den to be used as a dressing-room for the male guests and before sides could be picked for the charades Doctor Tassall was called away. My daughter and her husband had left the hall earlier, explaining to me that the young people would be happier on their own. If this was meant as a hint to me to follow their example, it failed of its object. I thought that a certain amount of supervision was desirable, but at mention of charades I decided that, as I was feeling tired and as this new activity was innocent and innocuous enough but would probably be extremely noisy, I was justified in seeking a little well-earned peace and quiet. I left word with Barker to lock up when everybody had gone and I went to bed. I took my tablet and fell asleep almost at once.
My sleep, however, did not last very long. What woke me I do not know, unless it was a premonition that all was not well.
I leaned up on my elbow and listened. I could bear nothing except a soft sound of scuffling just outside my door. Then a girl's voice said: 'Stop it, you fool! There might be somebody asleep in there!'
I switched on the light and rang my night-bell. After what I considered to be an unnecessary delay, my maid came in,
'Bridges,' I said, 'who is that on the landing?'
'Landing, madam?'
'Two persons have been scuffling about on the landing outside my room. Ask them to go downstairs at once!'
'There's nobody outside your door, madam. I would have seen them as I come along the corridor.'
'Well, anyway, it is time the party began to break up,' I said. 'Go downstairs and take my instructions to Mr Nigel. He will know how to cope. I don't want people here after midnight. After all, tomorrow is Sunday. Besides, most of these young people have to get back to London.' She returned after about ten minutes.
'Mr Nigel isn't there, madam. Miss Amabel tells me as he had arranged to pick up the photographer at eleven, there being no other way of getting him here so late excepting by car.'
'Oh, yes, I remember,' I said. 'Well, he should not be long. Tell Barker to have a word with him directly he gets back. As soon as the photographer has taken the groups, the party is to close down.'
'Very good, madam.'
I settled myself once more, secure in the knowledge that Nigel was to be relied on to respect my wishes and also the sanctity of the Sabbath. I was sorry, all the same, that he had had to absent himself from the party, for I thought it would take him more than an hour to drive into the town, pick up the photographer and return here, and I was not anxious to give Amabel and her friends carte blanche while they were unsupervised. I thought of sending Bridges to find Harlow Conyers and my daughter and request them to take charge, but I feared it would be useless, as, from the beginning, they had not been in favour of superintending the party. It was only because of my insistence upon their presence that they had been persuaded to attend it.
I fell asleep again at last and exactly how long I slept I do not know. I was awakened by a tapping at my door, followed by the entrance of Bridges in her dressing-gown.
'Madam,' she said, 'there's a bit of a schemozzle downstairs, and the gentlemen told Barker to tell me to let you know.'
'A what?' I said sharply. 'What on earth do you mean?'
'One of the young ladies went out to get a breath of air more than three hours ago, madam, and hasn't never come back,' she explained, looking excited and important, as servants do when they suspect that they are the bearers of ill-tidings or a breath of scandal.
'What of it?' I asked crossly. 'I suppose she has tired of the party and gone home.'
'It is not hardly thought so, madam. Seems some of them got too warm after the bits of play-acting, madam, and went out, but nobody don't think as she has gone home, seeing as how it seems she was still in her fancy dress, one of them costumes as the gentlemen students wore for the charity parade this morning in the village.'
'Still in her fancy dress? But why? What makes you think so?'
'Miss Amabel says as the clothes she come here in, madam, is still in the bedroom.'
'But whatever can have possessed her to go out in that hideous masquerade?'
'Something to do with the photographs, madam, it's thought. Miss Amabel said as they was to keep them on.'
'Oh, of course! They were to be taken wearing these monstrosities.'
'It seems they was hot to wear, madam, so this young lady says as she would just take a turn up the drive, but she hasn't never come back in again. Doctor Tassall, what was called out on a case before you retired, madam, come back about one o'clock, but says he never saw her
