'It reminds me I have a mission,' she said. 'There's a fencing match down at a hall in the West, near the barracks; private and select: Soldier and Civilian; I forget who challenged--Civilian, one judges; Soldiers are the peaceful party. They want you to act "umpire," as they call it, on the military side, my dear lord; and you will?--I have given my word you will bring Lady Ormont. You will?--and not let me be confounded! Yes, and we shall make a party. I see consent. Aminta will enjoy the switch of steel. I love to see fencing. It rouses all that is diabolical in me.' She sent a skimming look at the opposite. 'And I,' said he, much freshened. 'You fence?' 'Handle the foils.' 'If you must speak modestly! Are you in practice?' 'I spend in hour in Captain Chiallo's fencing rooms generally every evening before dinner. I heard there the first outlines of the match proposed. You are right; it was the civilian.' 'Mr. Morsfield, as I suspected.' She smiled to herself, like one saying, Not badly managed, Mr. Morsfield! 'Italian school?' Lord Ormont inquired, with a screw of the eyelids. 'French, my lord.' 'The only school for teaching.' 'The simplest--has the most rational method. Italians are apt to be tricky. But they were masters once, and now and then they send out a fencer the French can't touch.' 'How would you account for it?' 'If I had to account for it, I should say, hotter blood, cool nerve, quick brain.' 'Hum. Where are we, then?' 'We don't shine with the small sword.' 'We had men neatly pinked for their slashings in the Peninsula.' 'We've had clever Irishmen.' 'Hot enough blood! This man Morsfield--have you crossed the foils with him?' 'Goes at it like a Spaniard; though Spaniards in Paris have been found wary enough.' My lord hummed. 'Fellow looks as if he would easily lose his head over steel.' 'He can be dangerous.' The word struck on something, and rang. Mrs. Lawrence had a further murmur within her lips. Her travelling eye met Aminta's and passed it. 'But not dangerous, surely, if the breast is padded?' said Mrs. Pagnell. 'Oh no, oh no; not in that case!' Mrs. Lawrence ran out her voluble assent, and her eyelids blinked; her fair boy's face was mischief at school under shadow of the master. She said to Weyburn: 'Are you one in the list--to give our military a lesson? They want it.'