LadyCareysuddenlydroppedherpartner’sarm。Shehadseenamanstandingbyhimselfwithfoldedarmsandmoodyfaceattheentrancetotheball-room。Sheraisedherlorgnettes。Hisidentitywasunquestionable。
　　“Willyouexcusemeforamoment，CaptainHorton，“shesaidtoherescort。“IwantparticularlytospeaktoMr。Brott。“
　　CaptainHortonbowedwiththeslightdisappointmentofahungrymanonhiswaytothesupper-room。
　　“Don’tbelong，“hebegged。“Theplacesarefillingup。
　　LadyCareynoddedandwalkedswiftlyacrosstowhereBrottwasstanding。Hemovedeagerlyforwardtomeether。
　　“Notdancing，Mr。Brott？“
　　Heshruggedhisshoulders。
　　“Thissortofthingisn’tmuchinmyway，“heanswered。“IwasratherhopingtoseetheCountesshere。Itrustthatsheisnotindisposed。“
　　Shelookedathimsteadily。
　　“Doyoumean，“shesaid，“thatyoudonotknowwheresheis？“
　　“I？“heansweredinamazement。“HowshouldI？Ihavenotseenheratallthisevening。Iunderstoodthatshewastobehere。“
　　LadyCareyhesitated。Themanwastoohonesttobeabletolielikethis，eveninagoodcause。Shestoodquitestillforamomentthinking。Severalofherdearestfriendshadalreadytoldherthatshewaslookingtiredandillthisevening。Atthatmomentshewaspositivelyhaggard。
　　“IhavebeendownatRanelaghthisafternoon，“shesaidslowly，“anddiningout，soIhavenotseenLucille。Shewascomplainingofaheadacheyesterday，butIquitethoughtthatshewascominghere。HaveyouseentheDuchess？“
　　Heshookhishead。
　　“No。Thereissuchacrowd。“
　　LadyCareyglancedtowardsherescortandturnedaway。
　　“Iwilltryandfindoutwhathasbecomeofher，“shesaid。“Don’tgoawayyet。“
　　Sherejoinedherescort。
　　“Whenwehavefoundatable，“shesaid，“IwantyoutokeepmyplaceforafewmomentswhileItryandfindsomeofmyparty。“
　　Theypassedintothesupper-room，andappropriatedasmalltable。
　　LadyCareyleftherpartner，andmadeherwaytothefartherendoftheapartment，wherethePrinceofSaxeLeinitzerwassuppingwithhalfadozenmenandwomen。Shetouchedhimontheshoulder。
　　“Iwanttospeaktoyouforamoment，Ferdinand，“shewhispered。
　　Heroseatonce，andshedrewhim-alittleapart。
　　“Brottishere，“shesaidslowly。
　　“Brotthere！“herepeated。“AndLucille？“
　　“Heisaskingforher-expectedtofindherhere。Heisdownstairsnow，lookingthepictureofmisery。“
　　Helookedatherinquiringly。Therewasacurioussteelylightinhereyes，andshewasshowingherfrontteeth，whichwerealittleprominent。
　　“Doyouthink，“heasked，“thatshehasdeceivedus？“
　　“Whatelse？WherearetheDorsets？“
　　“TheDuchessiswiththeEarlofCondon，andsomemorepeopleattheroundtableunderthebalcony。“
　　“Givemeyourarm，“shewhispered。“Wemustgoandaskher；“
　　Theycrossedtheroomtogether。LadyCareysankintoavacantchairbythesideoftheDuchessandtalkedforafewminutestothepeoplewhomsheknew。ThensheturnedandwhisperedintheDuchess’sear。
　　“WhereisLucille？“
　　TheDuchesslookedatherwithameaningsmile。
　　“HowshouldIknow？Sheleftwhenwedid。“
　　“Alone？“
　　“Yes。Itwasallunderstood，wasn’tit？“
　　LadyCareylaughedunpleasantly。
　　“Shehasfooledus，“shesaid。“Brottisherealone。Knowsnothingofher。“
　　TheDuchesswaspuzzled。
　　“Well，Iknownothingmorethanyoudo，“sheanswered。“Areyousurethemanistellingthetruth？“
　　“Ofcourse。Heistheimageofdespair。“
　　“Iamsureshewasinearnest，“theDuchesssaid。“WhenIaskedherwhethersheshouldcomeonhereshelaughedalittlenervously，andsaidperhapsorsomethingofthatsort。“
　　“Thefoolmayhavebungledit，“LadyCareysaidthoughtfully。“I
　　willgobacktohim。There’sthatidiotofapartnerofmine。I
　　mustgoandpretendtohavesomesupper。“
　　CaptainHortonfoundhisvis-a-visasomewhatunsatisfactorycompanion。Shedrankseveralglassesofchampagne，atescarcelyanything，andrushedhimawaybeforehehadtakentheedgeoffhisappetite。HebroughthertotheDuchessandwentbackinahufftofinishhissupperalone。LadyCareywentdownstairsanddiscoveredMr。Brott，whohadscarcelymoved。
　　“Haveyouseenanythingofher？“sheasked。
　　Heshookhisheadgloomily。
　　“No！Itistoolateforhertocomenow，isn’tit？“
　　“Takemesomewherewherewecantalk，“shesaidabruptly。“Oneofthoseseatsintherecesswilldo。“
　　Heobeyedher，andtheyfoundaretiredcorner。LadyCareywastednotimeinfencing。
　　“IamLucille’sgreatestfriend，Mr。Brott，andherconfidante，“
　　shesaid。
　　Henodded。
　　“SoIhaveunderstood。“
　　“Shetellsmeeverything。“
　　Heglancedtowardsheralittleuneasily。
　　“Thatiscomprehensive！“heremarked。
　　“Itistrue，“sheanswered。“Lucillehastoldmeagreatdealaboutyourfriendship！Come，thereisnouseinourmincingwords。
　　Lucillehasbeenbadlytreatedyearsago，andshehasaperfectrighttoseekanyconsolationshemayfind。Theoldfashionedideas，thankgoodness，donotholdanylongeramongstus。Itisnotnecessarytotieyourselfforlifetoamaninordertoprocurealittlediversion。“
　　“Iwillnotpretendtomisunderstandyou，LadyCarey，“hesaidgravely，“butImustdeclinetodiscusstheCountessofRadantzinconnectionwithsuchmatters。“
　　“Oh，come！“shedeclaredimpatiently；“rememberthatIamherfriend。Yoursisquitetheproperattitude，butwithmeitdoesn’tmatter。NowIamgoingtoaskyouaplainquestion。HadYouanyengagementwithLucilleto-night？“
　　Shewatchedhimmercilessly。Hewascolouringlikeaboy。LadyCarey’sthinlipscurled。Shehadnosympathywithsuchamateurishlove-making。Nevertheless，hisembarrassmentwasagreatrelieftoher。
　　“Shepromisedtobehere，“heansweredstiffly。
　　“Everythingdependsuponyourbeinghonestwithme，“shecontinued。
　　“YouwillseefrommyquestionthatIknow。Wastherenotsomethingsaidaboutsupperatyourroomsbeforeorafterthedance？“
　　“Icannotdiscussthismatterwithyouoranylivingperson，“heanswered。“Ifyouknowsomuchwhyaskme？“
　　LadyCareycouldhaveshakentheman，butsherestrainedherself。
　　“Itissufficient！“shedeclared。“WhatIcannotunderstandiswhyyouarehere-whenLucilleisprobablyawaitingforyouatyourrooms。“
　　Hestartedfromhischairasthoughhehadbeenshot。
　　“Whatdoyoumean？“heexclaimed。“Shewasto-“
　　Hestoppedshort。LadyCareyshruggedhershoulders。
　　“Oh，writtenyouorsomething，Isuppose！“sheexclaimed。“TrustanEnglishmanforbunglingaloveaffair。AllIcantellyouisthatsheleftDorsetHouseinahansomwithouttheothers，andsaidsomethingabouthavingsupperwithsomefriends。“
　　Brottsprangtohisfeetandtookaquicksteptowardstheexit。
　　“Itisnotpossible！“heexclaimed。
　　Shetookhisarm。Healmostdraggedheralong。
　　“Well，wearegoingtosee，“shesaidcoolly。“Tellthemantocallahansom。“
　　TheydrovealmostinsilencethroughtheSquaretoPallMall。
　　Brottleapedoutontothepavementdirectlythecabpulledup。
　　“Iwillwaithere，“LadyCareysaid。“IonlywanttoknowthatLucilleissafe。“
　　Hedisappeared，andshesatforwardinthecabdrummingidlywithherforefingersupontheapron。Inafewminuteshecameback。
　　Hisappearancewasquitesufficient。Hewasverypale。Thechangeinhimwassoludicrousthatshelaughed。
　　“Getin，“shesaid。“IamgoingroundtoDorsetHouse。Wemustfindoutifwecanwhathasbecomeofher。“
　　Heobeyedwithoutcomment。AtDorsetHouseLadyCareysummonedtheDuchess’sownmaid。
　　“Marie，“shesaid，“youwereattendingupontheCountessRadantzto-night？“
　　“Yes，mylady。“
　　“Atwhattimedidsheleave？“
　　“Atabout，eleven，mylady。“
　　“Alone？“
　　“Yes，mylady。“
　　LadyCareylookedsteadilyatthegirl。
　　“Didshetakeanythingwithher？“
　　Thegirlhesitated。LadyCareyfrowned。
　　“Itmustbethetruth，remember，Marie。“
　　“Certainly，mylady！Shetookhersmalldressing-case。“
　　LadyCareysetherteethhard。Thenwithamovementofherheadshedismissedthemaid。Shewalkedrestlesslyupanddowntheroom。Thenshestoppedshortwithahardlittlelaugh。
　　“IfIgivewaylikethis，“shemurmured，“Ishallbepositivelyhideous，andafterall，ifshewasthereitwasnotpossibleforhim-“
　　Shestoppedshort，andsuddenlytearingthehandkerchiefwhichshehadbeencarryingintoshredsthrewthepiecesuponthefloor，andstampeduponthem。Thenshelaughedshortly，andturnedtowardsthedoor。
　　“NowImustgoandgetridofthatpoorfooloutside，“shesaid。
　　“Whatabungler！“
　　Brottwasbesidehimselfwithimpatience。
　　“Lucilleishere，“sheannounced，steppinginbesidehim。“Shehasashockingheadacheandhasgonetobed。Asamatteroffact，I
　　believethatshewasexpectingtohearfromyou。“
　　“Impossible！“heansweredshortly。Hewasbeginningtodistrustthiswoman。
　　“Nevermind。Youcanmakeitupwithherto-morrow。Iwasfoolishtobeanxiousaboutheratall。Areyoucominginagain？“
　　TheywereatCarmarthenHouse。Hehandedherout。
　　“No，thanks！IfyouwillallowmeIwillwishyougood-night。“
　　Shemadeherwayintotheball-room，andfoundthePrinceofSaxeLeinitzer，whowasjustleaving。
　　“DoyouknowwhereLucilleissheasked。
　　Helookedupathersharply。“Where？“
　　“AttheCarltonHotel-withhim。“
　　Herosetohisfeetwithslowbutevilpromptitude。Hisfacejustthenwasveryunlikethefaceofanangel。LadyCareylaughedaloud。
　　“Poorman，“shesaidmockingly。“ItisalwaysthesamewhenyouandSouspenniermeet。“
　　Hesethisteeth。
　　“Thistime，“hemuttered，“Iholdthetrumps。“
　　Shepointedattheclock。Itwasnearlyfour。“Shewasthereateleven，“sheremarkeddrily。