“UNCLE，“sheexclaimedinalowvoice，“thereissomethingonyourmind。Donottellmethatoncemoreyouareinthemaze，thatagainyouhaveschemesagainstthiscountry。“
　　Hesmiledathersadlyenough，butshewasreassured。
　　“Youneedhavenofear，“hetoldher。“Withpolitics-Ihavefinished。WhyIamhere，whatIamhereforIwilltellyouverysoon。ItistofindonewhomIhavelost-andwhoisdeartome。
　　Forgivemeifforto-dayIsaynomore。Come，ifyouwillyoushalldrivemetomyhotel。“
　　Heofferedhisarmwiththecourtlygracewhichheknewsowellhowtoassume。Togethertheypassedouttohercarriage。
　　Afterall，“LadyCareysighed，throwingdownaracingcalendarandlightingacigarette，“LondonistheonlythoroughlycivilizedAnglo-Saxoncapitalintheworld。Pleasedon’tlookatmelikethat，Duchess。Iknow-thisisyourholyofholies，buttheDukesmokeshere-I’veseenhim。Mycigarettesareverytinyandveryharmless。“
　　TheDuchess，whoworegold-rimmedspectacles，andwasapersonofweightinthecouncilsofthePrimroseLeague，wentcalmlyonwithherknitting。
　　“MydearMuriel，“shesaid，“ifmyapprovalordisapprovalwasoftheslightestmomenttoyou，itisnotyoursmokingofwhichI
　　shouldfirstcomplain。Iknow，however，thatyouconsideryourselfaprivilegedperson。Praydoexactlyasyoulike，butdon’tdroptheashesuponthecarpet。“
　　LadyCareylaughedsoftly。
　　“IsupposeIamratherathorninyoursideasarelative，“sheremarked。“Youmustputitdowntotherovingbloodofmyancestors。
　　IcouldnomorelivethelifeofyouotherwomenthanIcouldfly。
　　Imusthaveexcitement，movement，allthetime。“
　　Atall，heavilybuiltman，whohadbeenreadingsomelettersattheotherendoftheroom，camesaunteringuptothem。
　　“Well，“hesaid，“youassuredlyliveuptoyourprinciples，foryoutravelallovertheworldasthoughitwereonevastplayground。“
　　“Andsometimes，“sheremarked，“myjourneysarenotexactlysuccessful。Iknowthatthatiswhatyouaredyingtosay。“
　　“Onthecontrary，“hesaid，“Idonotblameyouatallforthislastaffair。YoubroughtLucillehere，whichwasexcellent。YourfailureasregardsMr。Sabinisscarcelytobefasteneduponyou。
　　ItisHorserwhomweholdresponsibleforthat。“
　　Shelaughed。
　　“PoorHorser！ItwasratherroughtopitacreaturelikethatagainstSouspennier。“
　　Themanshruggedhisshoulders。
　　“Horser，“hesaid，“maynotbebrilliant，buthehadagreatorganisationathisback。Souspennierwaswithoutfriendsorinfluence。Thecontestshouldscarcelyhavebeensoone-sided。Totellyouthetruth，mydearMuriel，Iammoresurprisedthatyouyourselfshouldhavefoundthetaskbeyondyou。“
　　LadyCarey’sfacedarkened。
　　“ItwastoosoonafterthelossofLucille，“shesaid，“andbesides，therewashisvanitytobereckonedwith。Itwaslikeachallengetohim，andhehadtakenuptheglovebeforeIreturnedtoNewYork。“
　　TheDuchesslookedupfromherwork。
　　“Haveyouhadanyconversationwithmyhusband，Prince？“sheasked。
　　ThePrinceofSaxeLeinitzertwirledhisheavymoustacheandsankintoachairbetweenthetwowomen。
　　“Ihavehadalongtalkwithhim，“heannounced。“Andtheresult？“
　　theDuchessasked。
　　“TheresultIfearyouwouldscarcelyconsidersatisfactory，“thePrincedeclared。“ThemomentthatIhintedattheexistenceof-er-conditionsofwhichyou，Duchess，areaware，heshowedalarm，andIhadallthatIcoulddotoreassurehim。Ifinditeverywhereamongstyouraristocracy-thisstubbornconfidenceintheexistenceofthereigningorderofthings，thisabsolutedetestationofanythingapproachingintrigue。“
　　“Mydearman，Ihopeyoudon’tincludeme，“LadyCareyexclaimed。
　　“You，LadyMuriel，“heanswered，withaslowsmile，“areanexceptiontoallrules。No，youarearulebyyourself。“
　　“Toreverttothesubjectthenforamoment，“theDuchesssaidstiffly。“YouhavemadenoprogresswiththeDuke？“
　　“Nonewhatever，“SaxeLeinitzeradmitted。“Hewassufficientlyemphatictoinspiremewitheverycaution。EvennowIhavedoubtsastowhetherIhavealtogetherreassuredhim。Ireallybelieve，dearDuchess，thatweshouldbebetteroffifyoucouldpersuadehimtogoandliveuponhisestates。“
　　TheDuchesssmiledgrimly。
　　“WhilsttheHouseofLordsexists，“sheremarked，“youwillneversucceedinkeepingAlgernonawayfromLondon。Heisalwaysonthepointofmakingaspeech，althoughheneverdoesit。“
　　“Ihaveheardofthatspeech，“LadyCareydrawled，fromherlowseat。“Itistobeathoroughlyenlighteningaffair。Allthegreatsocialquestionsaretobepermanentlydisposedof。ThePrimeMinisterwillcomeonhiskneesandbegAlgernontotakehisplace。“
　　TheDuchesslookedupoverherknitting。，“Algernonisatleastinearnest，“sheremarkeddrily。“Andhehasthegoodconscienceofacleanlivingandhonestman。“
　　“Whatanunpleasantpossessionitmustbe，“LadyCareyremarkedsweetly。“Idisposedofmyconsciencefinallymanyyearsago。I
　　amnotsure，butIbelievethatitwasthePrincetowhomI
　　entrustedtheburyingofit。Bythebye，Lucillewillbeheredirectly，Isuppose。IsshetobetoldofSouspennier’sarrivalinLondon？“
　　“Iimagine，“thePrincesaid，withknittedbrows，“thatitwillnotbewisetokeepitfromher。Itisimpossibletoconcealherwhereabouts，andthepaperswillveryshortlyacquaintherwithhis。“
　　“And，“LadyCareyasked，“howdoesthelittleaffairprogress？“
　　“Admirably，“thePrinceanswered。“AlreadysomeoftheSocietypapersarebeginningtochatteraboutthefriendshipexistingbetweenaCabinetMinisterandabeautifulHungarianladyoftitle，etc。，etc。ThefactofitisthatBrottisindeadlyearnest。Hegiveshimselfawayeverytime。IfLucillehasnotlostoldclevernessshewillbeabletotwisthimpresentlyaroundherlittlefinger。“
　　“Ifonlysomeonewouldtwisthimontherack，“theDuchessmurmuredvindictively。“Itriedtoreadoneofhisspeechestheotherday。Itwasnothingmorenorlessthanblasphemy。IdonotthinkthatI
　　amnaturallyacruelwoman，butIwouldhandsuchmenovertothepublicexecutionerwithjoy。“
　　Lucillecamein，asbeautifulasever，butwithtiredlinesunderherfulldarkeyes。Shesankintoalowchairwithlistlessgrace。
　　“ReginaldBrottagain，Isuppose，“sheremarkedcurtly。“Iwishthemanhadneverexisted。“
　　“Thatisaverycruelspeech，Lucille，“thePrincesaid，withalanguishingglancetowardsher，“forifithadnotbeenforBrottweshouldneverhavedaredtocallyououtfromyourseclusion。“
　　“Thenmoreheartilythanever，“Lucilledeclared，“Iwishthemanhadneverbeenborn。Youcannotpossiblyflatteryourself，Prince，thatyoursummonswasawelcomeone。“
　　Heshruggedhisshoulders。
　　“Ishallnever，beabletobelieve，“hesaid，“thattheCountessRadantzwasabletodomorethansupportexistenceinasmallAmericantown-withoutsociety，withnoscopeforherambitions，detachedaltogetherfromthewholecivilizedworld。“
　　“’Whichonlygoestoprove，Prince，“Lucilleremarkedcontemptuously，“thatyoudonotunderstandmeintheleast。AsaplaceofresidenceLenoxwouldcompareveryfavourablywith-sayHomburg，andforcompanionshipyouforgetmyhusband。Inevermetthewomanyetwhodidnotpreferthecompanyofoneman，ifonlyitweretherightone，tothecosmopolitanthrongwecallsociety。“
　　“Itsoundsidyllic，butverygauche，“LadyCareyremarkeddrily。
　　“Ineffectitisratherablowonthecheekforyou，Prince。OfcourseyouknowthatthePrinceisinlovewithyou，Lucille？“
　　“Iwishhewere，“sheanswered，lookinglazilyoutofthewindow。
　　Hebentoverher。
　　“Why？“
　　“Iwouldpersuadehimtosendmehomeagain，“sheansweredcoldly。