The young Duke was quite thrown out, too, by what was presented to his astonished eyes. Malcolm Grahame, after all, was not the _parvenu_ he had fancied him to be, and his sister, instead of being merely a pretty, silly girl, was one to grace a throne. His was not a nature easily to abandon a resolution once formed, and he thought of Helen as a mistress with a gratified emotion not to be described. A passion for her was at once raised in his heart. He, too, remembering his bet with Lester Vane, made his resolutions in respect to the intentions of his friend, but as his own in that particular remained unchanged, he decided upon preserving silence respecting it for the present. Both the young men were therefore glad to escape to their rooms, to recover their surprise on finding themselves in an atmosphere they had not expected, and in contact with persons differing materially from the conceptions they had formed of them. They were anxious to reflect upon their line of conduct during their stay, and having well considered the path to choose, to follow it out. The two girls and their mother were glad of an opportunity of comparing notes and devising plans, to be carried out so long as their guests remained. Mr. Grahame seemed to be in a dream, glad to be away from everybody, yet hating to be alone. A brilliant dinner was served at the appointed hour. As there was no point of resemblance in the characters of those present, save in those of Margaret Grahame and her mother, the conversation was certainly not monotonous. It afforded, however, an opportunity for those interested in such a task to observe and mentally comment upon their companions, and to draw conclusions to be treasured up for future use. The Duke of St. Allborne was placed on the right hand of Mr. Grahame, the Honorable Lester Vane on the right of Mrs. Grahame, the Duke enjoyed the pleasure of having the fair Helen as his right hand neighbour, and Lester Vane was honoured with the company of Margaret, for which he was not disposed to be especially grateful. Evangeline faced her brother Malcolm, and thus arranged they proceeded to discuss the various courses, to partake of the choicest wines, to converse, and to gaze upon each other. The last item was by no means the least important. The Duke did his best to engross the conversation of Helen, and to keep his round light blue eyes settled upon her, which she affected only to observe now and then by accident. Then a scarcely perceptible smile turned the corners of her mouth.