After an hour of that they went to see the prince who had the goblet. Half an hour's conversation with him, and the goblet belonged to Leslie. It was a glorious thing of deep blue glass and translucent enamel and silver, with the Berovieri signature cut on it. Peter looked at it much as he had seen a woman in the Duomo look up at her Lady's shrine, much as Rodney had looked on the illumined reality behind the dreaming silver world. Peter said, "My word, suppose it broke!" It was natural that he should think of that; things so often broke. Only that morning his gold watch had broken, in Illuminato's active hands. Only that afternoon his bootlace had broken, and he had had none to replace it because Caterina had been sailing his other boots in the canal. Peter sighed over the lovely and brittle world. Then he and Leslie visited Signor Sardi's shop and looked at _osele_ and sixteenth-century visiting cards. Peter said he knew nothing about either personally, but quoted Hilary in the Gem, to Leslie's satisfaction. "Your brother's a good man," said Leslie. "Knows what's what, doesn't he? If he says these are good _osele_, we may take it that they _are_ good _osele_, though we don't know one _osele_ from another. That's right, isn't it?" Peter said he supposed it was, if one wanted _osele_ at all, which personally he didn't care about; but one never knew, of course, what might come in useful. Anyhow Leslie bought some, and a visiting card belonging to the Count Amadeo Vasari, which gave him much satisfaction. Then they visited the person who, the Gem had said, had good plaques, and inspected them critically. Then they had tea at Sant' Ortes' tearoom, and then Peter went home. Hilary, who was looking worried, said, "Lord Evelyn wants us to dine with him to-night," and passed Peter a note in delicate, shaky handwriting. "Good," said Peter. Hilary wore a bored look and said, "I suppose we must go," and then proceeded to question Peter concerning Leslie's shopping adventures. He seemed on the whole more interested in the purchase of _osele_ than of the Berovieri goblet. "But," said Peter presently, "your plaque friend wasn't in form to-day. He had only shams. Rather bright shams, but still--So we didn't get any, which, I suppose, will please you to hear. Leslie was disappointed. I told your friend we would look in on a better day, when he had some of the real thing. He wasn't pleased. I expect he passes off numbers of those things on people as antiques. You ought to qualify your remarks in the Gem, Hilary--add that Signor Leroni has to be cautiously dealt with--or you'll be letting the uncritical plaque-buyer through rather badly." "I daresay they can look after themselves," Hilary said, easily; and Peggy added: "After all, so long as they _are_ uncritical, it can't matter to them what sort of a plaque they get!" which of course, was one point of view. CHAPTER VII DIANA, ACTAEON, AND LORD EVELYN