"Nigel! Oh, nonsense. There's no one more really prosaic. Debussy, indeed! I met him with his wife the other night at the opera and he introduced us. My dear, she's got flat red hair, an aigrette, a turned-up nose, a receding chin and long ear-rings; and she's quite young and very dowdy: the sort of dowdiness that's rather smart. She loathed me--that is to say, we took a mutual dislike, and a determination never to meet again, so strong that it amounted to a kind of friendship; we tacitly agreed to keep out of each other's way. I suppose there's such a thing as a sort of comradeship in aversion," Bertha added thoughtfully. "Oh, Bertha, fancy anybody disliking you!" "It's only because Nigel had told her, _in camera_, that he was in love with me once, and that we were almost engaged." "Did he say who broke it off?" "Yes, I should think he told the truth--that he did--but he didn't mention the real reasons, that he was horribly hard up and saw a chance of marrying an heiress. I daresay, too, that he said no other woman would ever be quite the same to him again, for fear Mrs. Nigel should be too pleased. Nigel is nice and amusing and he's sometimes very useful. He thinks he treated me badly, and really has got to appreciate me since, and as he knows I'm utterly indifferent to him now, he's devoted, I mean as a friend--he'll do anything on earth for me. He has absolutely nothing to do, you see; it's a kindness to employ him." "What do you give him to do?" "It depends. This time I've told him to get hold of Rupert and ask us all three--I mean you, and me and Rupert--to dine and go to some play. It would be so much less ceremonious than asking Rupert here, with Percy." "Oh, darling Bertha, you're an angel! I always said Nigel was charming. What about Mrs. Nigel, and Percy?" "Don't worry; that shall be arranged. Their rights shall not be ignored, nor their interests neglected! Percy's little finger is worth all Nigel. Still, Nigel has his good points; he might help us in this. There are so many things he can do, he's so _fin_--and adaptable, and diplomatic. That young brother of his, Charlie, is in love with you, Madeline. Now, he's a boy who _could_ marry, and who wants to. If you gave him only a look of encouragement he would propose at once. And he has a good deal of Nigel's charm, though he's not so clever, but he's very much steadier. Really, it's a pity you don't like him. I'm sorry." "Oh, I couldn't," said Madeline. "He's quite a nice boy, too; and I know how much he likes you, from Nigel." "Oh, I couldn't!" Madeline repeated, shaking her head. Bertha seemed silently to assent. "And will dear Nigel ask me all the same to meet Rupert, Bertha?" "Oh yes; we'll arrange it to-day. Nigel's delightfully prompt, and never delays anything." "And what will happen to Percy? You scarcely ever go out without him."