"Yes," said the lady with a little sigh of relief, "and so it will be such a pleasant change for her to have, so to speak, the run of this lovely park." "I'm sure," Peckover said with emphasis, "Lord Quorn will be delighted for Miss Buffkin to come here all day and every day." "How good of him," exclaimed Lady Ormstork, greedily accepting the suggestion. "And I shall enjoy it too, more than I can express." Peckover was silent as he fell gloomily to wondering whether his desirable lot would be to entertain this suave old lady while his friend flirted with the fair and lively Ulrica. "My young friend," proceeded Lady Ormstork, "is a really charming girl--what a superb Wellingtonia!--Yes, I see a great deal of her. Her father is not able to take her about, and so she has become almost like my own daughter." "Except that she doesn't exactly take after you in looks," thought Peckover; but he merely bowed acceptance of her statement. "You see, her position is quite enviable," the lady continued in her society voice and drawl, "As an only child she will be immensely rich. Indeed Ulrica has her separate fortune now. I'm sure I may confide in you, Mr.----' "Gage," Peckover supplied alertly. "Mr. Gage. Not one of the Shropshire Gages?" "Not that I know of," he replied, beating down a sporting instinct to claim kindred with that highly respectable, if rural, family. "Ah! Some of the Worcestershire branch, the Lovel-Gages, were my greatest friends," said Lady Ormstork regretfully reminiscent. "You don't come from Worcestershire?" "Not straight," he answered. Lady Ormstork laughed, as she always did when there was the possibility of a joke being intended. "Well my dear Mr. Gage, I may tell you in confidence, as I feel we are going to be very good friends, that one of the reasons I brought dear Ulrica down to this quiet place was to be out of the way of certain fortune hunters who were pursuing her with their attentions." "I don't wonder," responded Peckover, with a touch of enthusiasm. "No," the lady agreed. "Apart from her immense fortune, she is adorable. So handsome! and so clever!" "Yes, she's all that," said Peckover, enviously thinking of what a good time his friend was having, and regretting for once, that he had let the title go. "One person in particular," pursued the dowager, "has given me great anxiety. A Spanish duke, of undeniable family, a Grandee of Spain, and all that sort of thing, don't you know, but very poor, and consequently most persistent. You know what these foreigners are." "Rather," Peckover assured her, in a tone which implied an intimate acquaintance with the procedure of Spanish Grandees, rich and poor. "Of course," the lady continued, "--oh, how pretty that peep is!--of course an alliance with Ulrica would set him, the duke, on his feet again. It would enable him to resume his position and live on his estates like a prince."