Pollyooly had the firmest intention of dancing herself on the continent and in the Americas, and she applied herself to learning the French tongue with the vigour and tenacity with which she worked at her dancing. Miss Belthorp was astonished at the quickness with which she learnt; and she talked with enthusiasm to the duke of his daughter's gift for languages. "She has: has she?" said the duke; and he looked at her somewhat queerly. "It's perfectly wonderful!" said Miss Belthorp. "Oh, well: it's a very good thing. I dare say it will come in useful one of these days," said the duke. On their walk that morning he told Pollyooly that Miss Belthorp had said that she was a marvel at languages; and Pollyooly was very pleased to hear it. She told the duke her reason for working so hard at her French. He frowned for the next hundred yards, or so; then he said irritably: "I can't see why on earth you want to go in for this dancing and all this stage business at all." "Oh, but if you can dance--really dance, they pay you ever so well," cried Pollyooly. "I tell you what it is: you're a jolly sight too keen on money--for a child of your age--it's--it's mercenary--yes: mercenary," said the duke severely. Pollyooly flushed, and looked at him with her eyes bright either with tears, or a sparkle of anger. "But I _have_ to get money," she said with some heat. "When Mr. Ruffin's creditors hale him away to the deepest dungeon in Holloway (he's said they will lots of times) you don't suppose I'm going to let the Lump go to the workhouse! And where should I get another place like Mr. Ruffin's? I should only have Mr. Gedge-Tomkins." "Oh, well--of course--if it's like that," said the duke in a tone of awkward apology. Pollyooly said nothing for a while; she walked on with knitted brow. Then she said: "And anyhow when the Lump gets bigger, I shall want a lot of money. There'll be his clothes, and his schooling. I don't want him to go to a board school--not in London. Such children go there--Aunt Hannah said so, and so does Mrs. Brown. But there must be schools where they wouldn't charge very much." "Oh--ah--of course, you'll want money for that," said the duke heavily. Pollyooly gave a little skip as of one removing an unpleasant matter from her mind, and said cheerfully: "And anyhow I should have to go on the stage. Ronald and I couldn't get married if I didn't." "I keep telling you that he's going to marry Marion," said the duke very firmly indeed. His insistence on this fact did not seem to impair Pollyooly's cheerful serenity, for after a thoughtful pause she skipped again and said: "Oh, well: if I'm actually on the stage, I expect it would be all right. There must be other heirs of peers." The duke looked down on her and said bitterly: "I'm hanged if _I_ know what the world's coming to!" CHAPTER XXII THE DUKE WINS