"Carolina seems to me the one person on earth whose every wish had been gratified before it could be uttered," said St. Quentin, who was in some occult way related to the Lees. "I would be interested to know just what her dream in life could be." Carolina smiled at him gently. "She--she’s had Europe, Asia, and Africa a-all her life," cried Kate Howard, who always stuttered a little in the excitement of the moment. To Carolina this slight stutter was one of Kate’s greatest fascinations. You found yourself expecting and rather looking forward to it. At least it spelled enthusiasm. "She’s had masters in every known accomplishment. She--she can do all sorts of things. She can speak any language except Chinese, I do believe. She’s pretty. She’s rich in her own right--no waiting for dead men’s shoes or trying to get along on an allowance--a-and what under the sun can she want--e-except a husband?" "Perhaps, if she’s good, she may even get that," said St. Quentin. Again Carolina smiled. But her smile faded when her eyes met those of her sister-in-law, who viewed the girl with a thinly veiled dislike. The girl’s eyes flashed. Then she spoke. "I have wanted one thing so much that I am sure sometime I must achieve it," she said, slowly. "I want to be so poor that I shall be forced to earn my own living with no help from anybody!" She was not looking at her brother as she spoke, or she would have seen him start so violently that he upset his champagne-glass, and that his face had turned white. "What did I tell you?" murmured St. Quentin. "Carol likes to be sensational," said Mrs. Lee. "No one would dislike to be poor more than she, and no one would find herself more utterly helpless and dependent, if such a calamity were to overtake her." "I wouldn’t call it a calamity," said Carolina, quietly. "Yes, you would!" cried Kate. "I am inclined to agree with Carol," said St. Quentin, deliberately, "and to disagree, if I may, with Cousin Adelaide. In my opinion, Carol could go out to-morrow with only enough money to pay her first week’s board, and support herself." "I hope she may never be obliged to try," said her brother, harshly. "Addie, if you intend to hear any of the music, we’d better be starting. It is a quarter to ten now." Addie raised her shoulders in a slight shrug. "When Carolina holds the centre of the stage, it is impossible to carry out one’s own ideas of promptness," she said. "Nasty old cat," whispered Kate to St. Quentin, as he stooped for her glove and handkerchief. "Thanks so much. I don’t know how I managed it, but I held on to my fan."