"Sorry to keep you, my dear," said the high, unmodulated voice. "Old Carr was such a time. What! You here, Francis? I thought you had gone out." "I have been doing my best to entertain Lady Mary till you appeared," he said. "I came to say I'm engaged this afternoon," said Mary. "I can't go with you to your concert." The footman appeared with another telegram. Lord Francis opened it before it could reach his wife, and then tossed it to her. "For you," he said, and left the room. "Well, my dear," said Lady Francis, "in this you say you _will_ come, and now you say you _won't_, or am I reading it wrong? I don't understand." "I have changed my mind," said Mary feebly. "I mean I can't throw over the Lestranges. I only ran in to explain. I must be going back now." Lord Francis, who was in the hall, put her into her hansom and closed the doors. As he did so he leaned forward and said: "If you dare to interfere with me you will pay for it." PART II "Ah! woe that youth should love to be Like this swift Thames that speeds so fast, And is so fain to find the sea,-- That leaves this maze of shadow and sleep, These creeks down which blown blossoms creep, For breakers of the homeless deep." --EDMUND GOSSE. The little river steamer, with its gay awning, was hitched up to the Speaker's Stairs. The Lestranges were standing at the gangway welcoming their guests. There was a crowd watching along the parapet of Westminster Bridge just above. "Are we all here? It is past four," said Captain Lestrange to his wife. Mrs Lestrange looked round. "Eighteen, twenty, twenty-four. Ah! Here is Lady Mary Carden, late as usual. She is the last. No. There is one more to come. Miss Grey." "Which Miss Grey?" "Why, the one Jos Carstairs is to marry. She is coming under my wing. And now she isn't here. What on earth am I to do? We can't wait for ever." A tall white figure was advancing slowly, as if dragged step by step, through the shadow of the great grey building. "She does not hurry herself," said Mrs Lestrange indignantly, and she did not welcome Elsa very cordially as she came on board. The youngest of the party had made all the rest of that distinguished gathering wait for her. Mary, in a gown of immaculate white serge stitched with black, was sitting under the awning when Elsa passed her on her way towards a vacant seat lower down. The two women looked fixedly at each other for a moment, and in that moment Mary saw that Elsa knew that she knew. Even in that short time Lord Francis had evidently warned the girl against her.