“Fancy that!” his companion gasped; and she instantly obtained the Princess’s address from him and made a note of it in a small shabby pocket-book. She mentioned that the card the Princess had given her in Camberwell exhibited in fact no address, and he recognised that vagary—the Princess was so off-hand. Then she said, hesitating a little: “Does she really care for the poor?” “If she doesn’t,” the young man replied, “I can’t imagine what interest she has in pretending to.” “If she does she’s very remarkable—she deserves great honour.” “You really care—so why is she more remarkable than you?” Hyacinth demanded. “Oh it’s very different—she’s so wonderfully attractive!” Lady Aurora replied, making recklessly the one allusion to the oddity of her own appearance in which he was destined to hear her indulge. She became conscious of it the moment she had spoken, and said quickly, to turn it off: “I should like to talk with her, but I’m rather afraid. She’s tremendously clever.” “Ah what she is—‘tremendously’—you’ll find out when you know her!” he could but all portentously sigh. His hostess looked at him a little and then vaguely returned: “How very interesting!” The next moment she continued: “She might do so many other things. She might charm the world.” “She does that, whatever she does,” Hyacinth smiled. “It’s all by the way; it needn’t interfere.” “That’s what I mean, that most other people would be content—beautiful as she is. There’s great merit when you give up something.” “She has known a great many bad people and she wants to know some good,” he explained. “Therefore be sure to go to her soon.” “She looks as if she had known nothing bad since she was born,” said Lady Aurora rapturously. “I can’t imagine her going into all the dreadful places she’d have to.” “You’ve gone into them, and it hasn’t hurt you,” he suggested. “How do you know that? My family think it has.” “You make me glad then that I haven’t a family,” said the young man. “And the Princess—has she no one?” “Ah yes, she has a husband. But she doesn’t live with him.” “Is he one of the bad persons?” asked Lady Aurora as earnestly as a child listening to a tale. “Well, I don’t like to abuse him—he’s down.” “If I were a man I should be in love with her,” said Lady Aurora. Then she added: “I wonder if we might work together.” “That’s exactly what she hopes.” “I won’t show her the worst places,” her ladyship maliciously protested. To which her visitor returned: “I expect you’ll do what every one else has done—which is exactly what she wants!” Before he took leave he said to her: “Do you know if Paul Muniment also liked the Princess?” She meditated a moment, apparently with some intensity. “I think she struck him as extraordinarily beautiful—as the most beautiful person he had ever seen.” “Does he still believe her a humbug?” “Still?” asked Lady Aurora as if she didn’t understand.