Skaife had indeed a difficult task in hand; he himself feared hurrying events between Tremenhere and Minnie. He dreaded many things; he trembled lest he should become captivated by Lady Dora; and then her flirtation with his cousin Burton, the motive of which Skaife plainly perceived, alarmed him--this, through revenge, might lead to infatuation on Miles's part, and how _then_ ever pursuade Minnie that really he only loved herself? and all her future happiness and contentment with him, depended on her strong conviction on this point. He might easily have effected a meeting, a most joyful one, and reconciliation; but he felt that it must be even more than the first confidence of love--it must be one which had been tried in the fire, proved and purified--and how accomplish this? Her meeting him and Lady Dora in the Bois de Boulogne, had thrown so heavy a doubt over her heart. One only thing he could imagine, and this was privately to bring her to the studio, and let her own ears hear Miles's words--something must be done, and done quickly. Some days had passed, and Tremenhere made no effort to see Lady Dora in private; true he called there; it was urged upon him by Lord Randolph and Lady Lysson, who most nobly spoke to him on the subject, without knowing the relationship between them, only knowing of that between Burton and himself. "Lady Dora is capricious, like most beauties," she said, "my dear Mr. Tremenhere, and, for some extraordinary reason, chooses to receive Mr. Burton's visits contrary to my advice; it will not therefore do, for your own dignity sake, for you to absent yourself from their circle; my doors are open to you at all times; we are only too happy when we can secure you within them; and I strongly advise your visiting Lady Ripley, even more frequently than usual." He could but press the little soft hand held out to him in gratitude to his lips. Lady Ripley and her daughter had, however, another motive besides pleasure or pique in seeking Marmaduke Burton. They feared him, dreading what he might utter about Tremenhere's wife, as a relative of theirs. By policy, and seeming kindness towards him, they bound him to silence; for he read their hearts, and never alluded to the unpleasant subject. It mattered little to him _how_ he secured their support, that he had it, and as he believed, thus galled Tremenhere, was sufficient. Lady Dora would gladly have cut Burton after the ball where they had met; but crooked policy costs full many a bitter pang, spared to straightforward candour: in concealing their relationship to Tremenhere's wife--they took from her memory that, which might have shielded it from many a cloud.