Theladiesengagedonbothsides。Mrs。O’DowdsnappedherfingersinMrs。Crawley’sfaceandcalledherhusband“nobettherthanablack-leg。”ColonelCrawleychallengedColonelO’Dowd，C。B。TheCommander-in-ChiefhearingofthedisputesentforColonelCrawley，whowasgettingreadythesamepistols“whichheshotCaptainMarker。”andhadsuchaconversationwithhimthatnodueltookplace。IfRebeccahadnotgoneonherkneestoGeneralTufto，CrawleywouldhavebeensentbacktoEngland；andhedidnotplay，exceptwithcivilians，forsomeweeksafter。
But，inspiteofRawdon’sundoubtedskillandconstantsuccesses，itbecameevidenttoRebecca，consideringthesethings，thattheirpositionwasbutaprecariousone，andthat，evenalthoughtheypaidscarcelyanybody，theirlittlecapitalwouldendonedaybydwindlingintozero。”Gambling。”shewouldsay，“dear，isgoodtohelpyourincome，butnotasanincomeitself。Somedaypeoplemaybetiredofplay，andthenwherearewe？”
Rawdonacquiescedinthejusticeofheropinion；andintruthhehadremarkedthatafterafewnightsofhislittlesuppers，&c。，gentlemenweretiredofplaywithhim，and，inspiteofRebecca’scharms，didnotpresentthemselvesveryeagerly。
EasyandpleasantastheirlifeatPariswas，itwasafterallonlyanidledallianceandamiabletrifling；andRebeccasawthatshemustpushRawdon’sfortuneintheirowncountry。Shemustgethimaplaceorappointmentathomeorinthecolonies，andshedeterminedtomakeamoveuponEnglandassoonasthewaycouldbeclearedforher。AsafirststepshehadmadeCrawleyselloutoftheGuardsandgoonhalf-pay。Hisfunctionasaide-de-camptoGeneralTuftohadceasedpreviously。
Rebeccalaughedinallcompaniesatthatofficer，athistoupeewhichhemountedoncomingtoParis，athiswaistband，athisfalseteeth，athispretensionstobealady-killeraboveall，andhisabsurdvanityinfancyingeverywomanwhomhecamenearwasinlovewithhim。ItwastoMrs。Brent，thebeetle-browedwifeofMr。CommissaryBrent，towhomthegeneraltransferredhisattentionsnow——hisbouquets，hisdinnersattherestaurateurs’，hisopera-boxes，andhisknick-knacks。PoorMrs。Tuftowasnomorehappythanbefore，andhadstilltopasslongeveningsalonewithherdaughters，knowingthatherGeneralwasgoneoffscentedandcurledtostandbehindMrs。Brent’schairattheplay。Beckyhadadozenadmirersinhisplace，tobesure，andcouldcutherrivaltopieceswithherwit。But，aswehavesaid，she。