“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。