As she spoke, a heavy tread was heard on the staircase; the door opened, and Sir Charles Mitford entered, full of life and radiant with happiness. Any preoccupation or anxiety, for which his wife had prepared her visitor, seemed entirely to have disappeared. He advanced with open hand, and in his cheeriest manner said, "My dear Alsager, delighted to see you! A thousand thanks, my dear fellow,--much more than I can express,--for your conduct yesterday! I've heard all about it, and know how much I owe to you. Tremendous pluck! O yes, I know; you needn't pretend to be modest about it. I've been round to Saunderson's, and seen Spurrier; and he tells me that it was just one of the pluckiest things ever done. You staked the horse, or did something damaging to him, didn't you? so of course I told Spurrier to enter him in my account." "You're very good; but you're a little late, Sir Charles. I bought him on the spot, and would not part with him for treble his price." Laurence could not resist stealing a glance at Lady Mitford as he said this. Her eyes were downcast; but a bright red spot burned on her cheeks, and her brows were contracted. "Well, you've the right of refusal, and you know a good fencer when you see one, Alsager, I know. I only wished to have the horse as a memento of the day." Laurence muttered something inaudible. "I went down to call upon you, to thank you for all your kindness to my wife," continued Sir Charles; "and then finding I didn't know your address, I looked up Bertram at the Foreign Office; and after being handed about from one room to another, I found him, and he took me to your hotel. Don't seem to have much to do, those fellows at the Foreign Office. Bertram had only just arrived; but he left immediately when I told him I wanted him to come with me." "I'm very sorry I was not at home." "Well, so was I partly, and partly not. Of course I should have wished to have given you my thanks for your kindness the very first thing; but then of course you understand that I meant all that. When a man rescues another man's wife from tremendous danger, of course he understands that her husband is tremendously thankful to him, unless it's in a book or play, or that kind of thing, where husbands wish their wives were dead. And then again, if you had been in, I should have missed being introduced to such a charming woman." "To such a what, Charley?" asked Lady Mitford. "Oh, don't you be frightened, dear; it's all square and above-board. She asked me if she might call upon you; and she'll be here to-morrow or the next day; so mind you're at home to receive her." "Her? who?"