"She is not. But here are these two friends of mine calling on her; and I'm bound to put in an appearance before they leave. Rather so! I'm not turning them loose on any new heiresses, without keeping my eye on what they're up to," explained the Honourable James Burke with his usual bland frankness. "So here I stop the taxi." He got out. I saw him feel in all his pockets, and at last he took out half a sovereign. (The last, I daresay.) Then he turned to me. "I'll give you three minutes' start, child, to get back to the hotel and into that cap and apron of yours. One more word.... Go through the lounge, and you'll see the animals feeding. Go on, man"--to the taxi driver: "The Hotel Cecil; fly!" CHAPTER XV A DIFFERENT KIND OF PARTY MISS MILLION and her callers were having tea in the bigger "lounge," or whatever they call the gilded hall behind the great glass doors which shut it off from the main entrance. Now, this was the first time that my mistress had plucked up courage to take a meal downstairs since we had come to the Cecil. I wondered how she'd been getting on. I must see! So, still in my outdoor things, I passed the glass doors. I walked into the big tea-room. There were palms, and much gilding, and sofas, and dark-eyed, weary-looking waiters wheeling round little carts spread with dainties, and offering the array of éclairs and flat apple-cakes to the different groups--largely made up of American visitors--who were sitting at the plate-glass-topped tables. I couldn't see Million--Miss Million's party--anywhere at first! I looked about.... At the further end of the place a string band, half-hidden behind greenery, was playing "I Shall Dream of You the Whole Night." Peals of light laughter and ripples of talk came from a gay-looking group of frocks--with just one man's coat amongst them--gathered around a table near the band. I noticed that the eyes of everybody within earshot were turning constantly towards this table. So I looked, too. At whom were they all staring? At a plump, bright-haired woman in all-white, who was obviously entertaining the party--to say nothing of the rest of the room. She had a figure that demanded a good deal of French lingerie blouse, but not much skirt. The upright feather in her hat was yellow; jewelled slides glittered in her brass-bright hair; her eyes were round and very black. She reminded me of a sulphur-crested, white cockatoo I had seen at the Zoo. But where had I seen her before? She puzzled and fascinated me. I stood a little way off, forgetting my errand, watching this vivacious lady, the centre of the group. She was waving her cigarette to punctuate her remarks----