“We first—met—him——” she musingly replied, “really, I ca’n’t remember _where_! And I’ve no idea where he lives! And I never heard any other name! It’s very curious. It never occurred to me before to consider what a mystery he is!” “I hope we shall meet again,” I said: “he interests me very much.” “He will be at our farewell-party, this day fortnight,” said the Earl. “Of course you will come? Muriel is anxious to gather all our friends around us once more, before we leave the place.” And then he explained to me—as Lady Muriel had left us together—that he was so anxious to get his daughter away from a place full of so many painful memories connected with the now-canceled engagement with Major Lindon, that they had arranged to have the wedding in a months time, after which Arthur and his wife were to go on a foreign tour. “Don’t forget Tuesday week!” he said as we shook hands at parting. “I only wish you could bring with you those charming children, that you introduced to us in the summer. Talk of the mystery of Mein Herr! That’s _nothing_ to the mystery that seems to attend _them_! I shall never forget those marvellous flowers!” “I will bring them if I possibly can,” I said. But how to _fulfil_ such a promise, I mused to myself on my way back to our lodgings, was a problem entirely beyond my skill! CHAPTER VIII. IN A SHADY PLACE. The ten days glided swiftly away: and, the day before the great party was to take place, Arthur proposed that we should stroll down to the Hall, in time for afternoon-tea. “Hadn’t you better go _alone_?” I suggested. “Surely _I_ shall be very much _de trop_?” “Well, it’ll be a kind of _experiment_,” he said. “_Fiat experimentum in corpore vili!_” he added, with a graceful bow of mock politeness towards the unfortunate victim. “You see I shall have to bear the sight, to-morrow night, of my lady-love making herself agreable to everybody _except_ the right person, and I shall bear the agony all the better if we have a dress-rehearsal beforehand!” “_My_ part in the play being, apparently, that of the sample _wrong_ person?” “Well, no,” Arthur said musingly, as we set forth: “there’s no such part in a regular company. ‘Heavy Father’? _That_ won’t do: that’s filled already. ‘Singing Chambermaid’? Well, the ‘First Lady’ doubles _that_ part. ‘Comic Old Man’? You’re not comic enough. After all, I’m afraid there’s no part for you but the ‘Well-dressed Villain’: only,” with a critical side-glance, “I’m a _leetle_ uncertain about the dress!”