Now, with her increasing serenity, with her restored sleep, and with her mind at rest about the issue, she recovered her lost spirits; her voice once more began to be heard at table as often as Leonetta's, and the traditional savour of Delarayne humour was maintained as faithfully by the elder as by the younger of the two daughters. Lord Henry watched this improvement in his patient with lively interest and amusement, but he quite well realised, notwithstanding, that the means he had used had been exceptional, and could scarcely have been recommended as practicable therapeutics to every practising physician in England. Nevertheless, he felt that he had not yet completely discharged his duty to Mrs. Delarayne, whom he loved sufficiently to serve with zeal; and as he walked down to Sir Joseph's ballroom that evening he was half aware that only the first stage in his campaign had been successfully fought. Meanwhile, in addition to the Tribes, Leonetta and her sister, he had made many friends at Brineweald. Stephen and his sister were devoted to him,--so in his way was Guy Tyrrell; while it was only Sir Joseph's constant dread of the young nobleman's mysterious power over Mrs. Delarayne that prevented him, too, from becoming one of Lord Henry's devoted adherents. The dance was a great success. With scrupulous care Lord Henry divided his attentions equally between Mrs. Delarayne and her two daughters, and thus broke into Denis Malster's programme with Leonetta with devastating effect. This young man was bound to dance a few dances with Mrs. Delarayne and her elder daughter; he was also obliged, out of regard for Sir Joseph, to attend to some of the baronet's guests; and thus, when it came to his turn to claim Leonetta, he was scarcely in a mood to be fascinating. "What's the matter with you?" he whispered angrily to her, as they swept up the ballroom. "Nothing--what do you mean?" she rejoined. "You're not the same. Have I done anything to upset you?" "No----" "Well, tell me, Leo,--tell me what it is! You have been hateful to me the whole day." "My dear boy, I haven't. What have I done? I'm just the same, if you are." "Just the same?" Denis snorted. "Why, look how you treated me on the terrace!" "Oh, that!" "Yes,--besides, yesterday evening you said that you would tell me to-day whether you were prepared to do what I suggested. We might have been well away by now." Leonetta, who was enjoying the dance far too much to regret not being "well away by now," tried to appear absent-minded. "I didn't say to-day--did I?" she observed. "Oh, well, if you don't remember." "I may have done." "Oh, Leo, you don't really love me. You say you do, but you don't." Nothing on earth is more wearying than an injured and protesting lover. Better never to have been loved at all than to suffer such persecution. "My dear boy, what do you want me to do?" she sighed. "Be as you were three days ago--before----" "Before what?"