Part 32 (1/2)
”Jealous? And why?”
With an i at him
”Oh, I do not know! Nor he! Take me back to the ball-room”
”Certainly, my dear” He rose and led her out ”I shall doon youto-htful 'twill be! Come to dine, Tracy! Richard is promised to the Fortescues”
”In that case, I haveyour invitationIn heaven's na down upon the you everywhere!ahyour servant, sir!” He bowed to his Grace, and took Lavinia's hand
”Ohoh, Harold!you remember Tracy?” she said nervously
”Tracy! I did not know you ret I was not aware of your presence It is a goodyou”
”Five,” nodded Lovelace, and sent a slance at Lavinia
”Exactly,” bowed his Grace ”You have, I perceive, renewed your acquaintance with one he caressed his chin, thoughtfully
”Lovelaceand Richard is so jealous, so unreasonable Now I do hope Lavinia will do nothing indiscreetYes, Frank, I was talking to myself; a bad habit”
Fortescue, who had con of lunacy, my dear Jim Cavendish demands you”
”Does he? May I ask why?”
”He is in the card-room There is soo You had best accompany me, Frank”
”Very well You have seen Lady Lavinia?”
Beneath the mask his Grace's eyes narrowed
”I have seen Lavinia Also I have seen an old friendLovelace by na? Your friend, you say?”
”Did I say so? I should correct myself: a friend of my sister's”
”Indeed? Yes, I believe I have seen himatically
”I daresay”
”And what of you, Tracy?”
”Well? What ofthat you had at last fallen in love It is true? You are honestly in love?”
”Honestly? How do I know? I only know that I have felt this passion for four er than ever It sounds like love”
”Then, an she is a good woman, I hope she will consent to take you, such as you are, and make of you such as she can!”
”Now that is very neat, Frank I congratulate you Of course she will take me; as to the restI think not”
”Tare an' ouns, Tracy! but an that is the tone you take with her, she'll have none of you!”
”I have never found it unsuccessful”
”With your common trollops, no! But if your Diana is a lady, she will dispatch you about your business! Woo her, et your own damned importance, for I think you will need to humble yourself to the dust if all that you tell me has passed between you is true!”
They had paused outside the card-room A curtain shut it off froantly down at his friend
”Humble myself? 'Fore Gad, you must be mad!”
”Belike I am; but I tell you, Tracy, that if your passion is love, 'tis a strange one that puts yourself first I would not give the snap of a finger for it! You want this girl, not for her happiness, but for your own pleasure That is not the love I once told you would save you froht; you will realise your own insignificance, and above all, be ready to make any sacrifice for her sake Yes, even to the point of losing her!”
His Grace's lips sneered
”Your eloquence is marvellous,” he remarked ”I have not been so amused since I left Paris”
CHAPTER XX
HIS GRACE OF ANDOVER TAKES A HAND IN THE GAME
WHEN the Duke of Andover dined next day at Grosvenor Square, he contrived, by subtle means, to make his sister feel inexplicably ill at ease He let fall pleasant little re her friendshi+p with Captain Lovelace, in which she read disapproval and a sinister warning She was afraid of him, as she was not of her husband, and she knew that if he ever guessed at the depths of her affection for the old fla her intercourse with hi to his return that she told Lovelace that he must not so palpably adore her Neither must he visit her so frequently They were both in her boudoir at the ti, and no doubt Lavinia looked very lovely and very teolden curls free from powder and loosely dressed beneath her escalloped lace ruffle At all events, Lovelace abandoned his daintily bantering pose and seized her in his ar her with fierce, passionate caresses
Her ladyshi+p struggled, gave a faint shriek, and started to cry As his kisses see her to a chair, lowered her gently into it Then, having first dusted the floor with his handkerchief, he knelt down beside her and possessed himself of both her hands
”Lavinia! Goddess! I adore you!”
Bethinking herself that tears were ruinous to her complexion, Lady Lavinia pulled her hands away and dabbed at her eyes
”Oh, Harold!” she reproached him
”I have offended you! Wretch that I aain ”But 'ticked of you, Harry!
You ain!”