第16章

TheDuchesslookedupfromherknitting。“Yourhusbandhassavedyouthejourney，“sheremarked，“evenifyouwereabletoworkuponthePrince’sgoodnaturetosuchanextent。“

Lucillestartedroundeagerly。

“Whatdoyoumean？“shecried。

“YourhusbandisinLondon，“theDuchessanswered。

Lucillelaughedwiththegaietyofachild。Likemagicthelinesfrombeneathhereyesseemedtohavevanished。LadyCareywatchedherwithpalecheeksandmalevolentexpression。

“Come，Prince，“shecriedmockingly，“itwasonlyaweekagothatyouassuredmethatmyhusbandcouldnotleaveAmerica。AlreadyheisinLondon。Imustgotoseehim。Oh，Iinsistuponit。“

SaxeLeinitzerglancedtowardstheDuchess。Shelaiddownherknitting。

“MydearCountess，“shesaidfirmly，“Ibegthatyouwilllistentomecarefully。Ispeaktoyouforyourowngood，andIbelieveImayadd，Prince，thatIspeakwithauthority。“

“Withauthority！“thePrinceechoed。

“Weall，“theDuchesscontinued，“lookuponyourhusband’sarrivalasinopportuneandunfortunate。Weareallagreedthatyoumustbekeptapart。Certainobligationshavebeenlaiduponyou。Youcouldnotpossiblyfulfilthemwithahusbandatyourelbow。Thematterwillbeputplainlybeforeyourhusband，asIamnowputtingitbeforeyou。Hewillbewarnednottoattempttoseeorcommunicatewithyouasyourhusband。Ifheoryoudisobeytheconsequenceswillbeserious。“

Lucilleshruggedhershoulders。

“Itiseasytotalk，“shesaid，“butyouwillnotfinditeasytokeepVictorawaywhenhehasfoundoutwhereIam。“

ThePrinceintervened。

“Wehavenoobjectiontoyourmeeting，“hesaid，“butitmustbeasacquaintances。Theremustbenointermissionorslackeninginyourtask，andthatcanonlybeproperlycarriedoutbytheCountessRadantzandfromDorsetHouse。“

Lucillesmotheredherdisappointment。

“Dearme，“shesaid。“YouwillfindVictoralittlehardtopersuade。“

Therewasamoment’ssilence。ThenthePrincespokeslowly，andwatchingcarefullytheeffectofhiswordsuponLucille。

“Countess，“hesaid，“ithasbeenourpleasuretomakeofyourtasksofaraspossibleaholiday。Yetperhapsitiswisertoremindyouthatunderneaththegloveisanironhand。Wedonotoftenthreaten，butwebrooknointerference。Wehavethemeanstothwartit。Ibearnoill-willtoyourhusband，buttoyouI

saythis。Ifheshouldbesomadastodefyus，toinciteyoutodisobedience，hemustpaythepenalty。“

Aservantentered。

“Mr。ReginaldBrottisinthesmalldrawing-room，yourGrace，“heannounced。“HeenquiredfortheCountessRadantz。“

Lucillerose。Whentheservanthaddisappearedsheturnedroundforamoment，andfacedthePrince。Aspotofcolourburnedinhercheeks，hereyeswerebrightwithanger。

“Ishallrememberyourwords，Prince，“shesaid。“Sofarfromminebeing，however，aholidaytask，itisoneofthemostwearisomeandunpleasantIeverundertook。Andinreturnforyourwarningsletmetellyouthis。Ifyoushouldbringanyharmuponmyhusbandyoushallanswerforitallyourdaystome。Iwilldomyduty。Becarefulthatyoudonotexceedyours。“

Shesweptoutoftheroom。LadyCareylaughedmockinglyatthePrince。

“PoorFerdinand！“sheexclaimed。

Hehadbeenkeptwaitinglongerthanusual，andhehadsomehowthefeelingthathisvisitwasill-timed，whenatlastshecametohim。

Helookedupeagerlyassheenteredthelittlereceptionroomwhichhehadgrowntoknowsowellduringthelastfewweeks，anditstruckhimforthefirsttimethatherwelcomewasalittleforced，hereyesalittleweary。

“Ihaven’t，“hesaidapologetically，“theleastrighttobehere。“

“Atleast，“shemurmured，“Imaybepermittedtoremindyouthatyouareherewithoutaninvitation。“

“Theworseluck，“hesaid，“thatoneshouldbenecessary。“

“Thisistheonehouroftheday，“sheremarked，sinkingintoalargeeasy-chair，“whichIdevotetorepose。HowshallIpreservemyfleetingyouthifyoubreakinuponitinthisruthlessmanner？“

“IfIcouldonlytruthfullysaythatIwassorry，“heanswered，“butIcan’t。Iamhere-andIwouldratherbeherethananywhereelseintheworld。“

Shelookedathimwithcurvinglips；andevenhe，whohadwatchedheroften，couldnottellwhetherthatcurvewasofscornormirth。

“Theytoldme，“shesaidimpressively，“thatyouweredifferent-awoman-hater，honest，gruff，alittlecynical。Yetthosearethespeechesofyoursaladdays。Whatadisenchantment！“

“Thethingswhichoneinventswhenoneisyoung，“hesaid，“comeperhapsfreshfromtheheartinlaterlife。Thewordsmaysoundthesame，butthereisadifference。“

“Come，“shesaid，“youareimproving。Thatatanyrateisingenious。

Supposeyoutellmenowwhathasbroughtyouherebeforefouro’clock，whenIamnotfittobeseen？“

Hesmiled。Sheshruggedhershoulders。

“Imeanit。Ihaven’teithermyclothesormymannersonyet。

Come，explain。“

“Imetamanwhointerestedme，“heanswered。“HecomesfromAmerica，fromLenox！“

Hesawherwhiten。Hesawherfingersclutchthesidesofherchair。

“FromLenox？Andhisname？“

“TheDukeofSouspennier！Hetakeshimselfsoseriouslythatheeventravelsincognito。AtthehotelhecallshimselfMr。Sabin。“

“Indeed！“

“Iwonderedwhetheryoumightnotknowhim？“

“Yes，Iknowhim。“

“Andinconnectionwiththisman，“Brottcontinued，“Ihavesomethinginthenatureofaconfessiontomake。Iforgotforamomentyourrequest。Ievenmentionedyourname。“

Thepallorhadspreadtohercheeks，eventoherlips。Yethereyesweresoftandbrilliant，sobrilliantthattheyfascinatedhim。

“Whatdidhesay？Whatdidheask？“

“Heaskedforyouraddress。Don’tbeafraid。Imadesomeexcuse。

Ididnotgiveit。“

Forthelifeofhimhecouldnottellwhethershewaspleasedordisappointed。Shehadturnedhershouldertohim。Shewaslookingsteadilyoutofthewindow，andhecouldnotseeherface。

“Whyareyoucuriousabouthim？“sheasked。

“IwishIknew。IthinkonlybecausehecamefromLenox。“

Sheturnedherfaceslowlyroundtowardshim。Hewasastonishedtoseethedarkringsunderhereyes，thewearinessofhersmile。

“TheDukeofSouspennier，“shesaidslowly，“isanoldandadearfriendofmine。WhenyoutellmethatheisinLondonIamanxiousbecausetherearemanyherewhoarenothisfriends-whohavenocausetolovehim。“

“Iwaswrongthen，“hesaid，“nottogivehimyouraddress。“

“Youwereright，“sheanswered。“Iamanxiousthatheshouldnotknowit。Youwillrememberthis？“Heroseandbowedoverherhand。

“Thishasbeenaselfishinterlude，“hesaid。“Ihavedestroyedyourrest，andIalmostfearthatIhavealsodisturbedyourpeaceofmind。Letmetakemyleaveandpraythatyoumayrecoverboth。“

Sheshookherhead。

“Donotleaveme，“shesaid。“Iamlow-spirited。YoushallstayandcheermeTherewasalightinhiseyeswhichfewpeoplewouldhaverecognised。

Sherosewithalittlelaughandstoodleaningtowardsthefire，herelbowuponthebroadmantel，tall，graceful，alluring。Hersoftcrimsongown，withitswealthofoldlace，fellaroundherinlinesandcurvesfullofgrace。Thepallorofherfacewasgonenow-thewarmthofthefireburnedhercheeks。Hervoicebecamesofter。