Lord Selsey was remarkably handsome; the even profile, well-shaped head, and blond colouring were much the same in uncle and nephew, the uncle's face having, perhaps, a more idealistic cast. The twenty years' difference in age had only given the elder man a finer, fairer, more faded look, and the smooth light hair, still thick, was growing grey. Cecil was not surprised to find his uncle sitting in his smoking-room, smoking, and not reading the morning paper. He was looking over his collection of old coins. At a glance he saw by Cecil's excessive quietness that the boy, as he called him, was perturbed, so he talked about the coins for some minutes. Cecil made little attempt to conceal that fact that Things bored him. 'Well, what is it?' said Lord Selsey abruptly. Cecil couldn't think of anything better by way of introducing the trouble than the vaguely pessimistic statement that everything was rather rotten. 'You don't gamble, you're not even very hard up.... It's a woman, of course,' said Lord Selsey, 'and you want to marry, I suppose, or you wouldn't come to me about it.... Who is she?' Cecil gave a rough yet iridescent sketch of Mrs Raymond. 'Of course she's older than I am, but it doesn't make the slightest difference. She's been a widow ever since she was twenty. She's very hard up, and she doesn't care. She's refused me, but I want to make her come round.... No, she isn't _pretty_, not very.' Lord Selsey put his old coins away, and leant back in his chair. 'I should like to see her,' he said thoughtfully. 'I'm sure of one thing, uncle you could never have any vulgar, commonplace ideas about her--I mean, she's so _peculiarly_ disinterested, and all that sort of thing. You mustn't fancy she's a dangerous syren, don't you know, or.... For instance, she doesn't care much for dress; she just sticks up her hair anyhow, and parts it in the middle.' 'Then it would certainly be difficult to believe anything against her,' said Lord Selsey. 'Besides, she really wants me to marry someone else.' 'Who?' 'She's always trying to persuade me to propose to Hyacinth Verney ... you know, that pretty girl, old Cannon's ward.... She is awfully pretty, of course, I know.' 'I should like to see her,' said Lord Selsey. Cecil smiled. It was well known that Lord Selsey was a collector. Though no-one could have less of the pompous, fatuous vanity of the Don Juan, beauty had always played, and always would play, a very prominent part in his life. It was, in fact, without exception, his greatest pleasure, and interest--even passion. The temperament that gave to beauty and charm a rather inordinate value had, no doubt, descended to his nephew. But Cecil was, in that as in everything else, much less of a dilettante. 'You actually want me to advise you to persuade Mrs Raymond to marry you? My dear boy, how can I?' 'How is it you don't say she's quite right not to?' asked Cecil curiously.