The short Jewish-looking man who accompanied him was Mr. Andrew Levison, the theatrical _entrepreneur_ and leesee of the Frivolity Theatre, in which Lord Bellina had invested several thousand pounds. Lord Bellina opened the door of the room and entered, followed by Mr. Levison. Upon one of the divans, wearing a long tea-gown of Indian red, Mimi Addington was lounging. Her face was very pale, and on this occasion quite destitute of the little artistic touches with which she was wont to embellish it. The expression was strained and angry, and the beautiful eyes shone with a hard, fierce glitter. There had been no performance at the Frivolity Theatre on the night after Joseph's sudden appearance there. Mimi Addington had been taken away in a state of wild and terrified hysteria. It was impossible for her to play upon the Saturday night, and her understudy, who should have sustained the part in the illness of her principal, had disappeared, and could not be found. Moreover, several other members of the cast had sent in their resignations, and many of the ticket offices of the West End of town had reported that the gilded gang of young men who were accustomed to take stalls for considerable portions of the run of a popular piece had withdrawn their applications. "Well, Mimi, my dear," said Mr. Levison, with anxious geniality, "and how are you to-day?" "Bad," the girl answered in one single bitter word. Mr. Levison made a commiserating noise. "Tut, tut!" he said; "you must try and bear up, Mimi, though I must own this abominable and unprecedented occurrence has been enough to try any one--this Joseph." At the word the woman sprang from her couch with a swift feline movement of rage. "Him!" she screamed, in a voice from which all the usual melody and sweetness had entirely departed. "If I had him here I'd murder him! No, that would be too good for him! I've thought of worse things than that to do!" Lord Bellina went up to her and put his arm round her shoulder. "And serve him right," he said; "but try and be quiet, Mimi, you'll only make yourself worse." She pushed the young man roughly away, in a blaze of passion so lurid and terrible that it frightened the two men. Lord Bellina looked helplessly at Levison for a moment. The elder man rose to the occasion. "Let's get to business," he said; "something must be done." The woman nodded eagerly and quickly, and with the same unnatural glitter in her eyes. "Have you seen any of the papers?" Levison said. She shook her head.