French life with its manners and customs pleased our young _debutante_. Although as a matter of course, _mademoiselles les etudiantes_ were carefully looked after, yet she had plenty of liberty allowed her, for she so "got round" the _directrice_ of the school that she was nearly her own mistress; and she was not slow to employ her spare time in seeing as much as she could of the gay city, its habits, and its visitors. _Madame la Directrice_ would have been shocked if she had known that her timid little modest English teacher, "such a quiet little thing, _pauvre enfante_!" often went to fetes by herself, _sans chaperone_, and had been even seen in one of those monstrous places--a theatre! The _gouvernante_ was a shrewd, cautious little actress, and _Madame la Directrice_ was as blind, bah! as a mole. It was easy enough to make up a little story of relations to be seen, and to show letters of invitation imploring a certain demure English teacher to visit her poor aunt, who was all alone in Paris. And then the _pauvre enfante_ was so regular in coming back. She was always in at the fixed hour every evening she went out--so quiet, so punctual. Madame never dreamt of such things as bribing a _concierge_! While Clara Joyce was thus busying herself in investigating human nature, a certain young Englishman came to Paris, and in one of her excursions he made her acquaintance. _Monsieur l'Anglais_ was tall and handsome and rich. He had plenty of money, and was liberal, and was looked upon as a _milord_ at least by those with whom he associated. The young Englishman, however, was as shrewd and clever as the _gouvernante_. Need it be said that his name was one with which we are already acquainted? It was Allynne Markworth. Clara Joyce was an elegant, pretty girl, and the way he made her acquaintance was in itself an additional charm. Markworth was attracted by her, and courted her society. He had then a little romance in him, and was to a certain extent in love with her; but the girl was as cautious as he was enamoured. She thought that at last she had succeeded in picking up her eligible _parti_, not only a wealthy one, but a young and handsome one also, a regular pearl of price. But, like all young players, she underrated her adversary, and let him see her hand too soon. Markworth was not one to be caught so easily. He was one, also, who was marketing on his good looks, and contemplated matrimony only through the diamond light of a fortune. He was not going to sacrifice himself for a pretty English governess, who had only her graces to recommend her, and not a sou of _dot_! He laughed at her when she spoke of the hymeneal altar; and so poor Clara Joyce--one cannot help pitying a clever woman who lays herself out to win and loses in the end--had made her _coup_ and missed it just by a fluke!