"He doesn't want to go far, Mr Farquhar," she whispered. She pointed at the slumbering figure of Lord Saxham. "My father has plenty of brains; if he had worked, he might have been Prime Minister, or very near it. In the Rossett family, there is a certain amount of grit, but not quite enough to bring them to the foremost place." Farquhar leaned across the table. This was certainly one of the most charming women he had ever met. "I say, Lady Mary, what a pity you are not a man. If you had been, I am sure you would have put the Rossett family in their right place." He cast a cautious glance at the still slumbering host. Lady Mary smiled pleasantly. She was not ill-pleased with the genuine compliment. "Yes, perhaps, if I had been born a man. I should certainly have been better than Eric, perhaps a shade better than Guy." She broke off suddenly. "But it is idle to talk of these things. I am a woman, and must be contented with my lot, my humble sphere. Now, can you tell me anything of my brother?" "You want me to tell you the truth, and you will not be afraid to hear it?" "No, I shall not be afraid." She spoke very bravely, but he noticed that her hands were trembling. "I had a letter from Moreno this morning. He tells me that the design against your brother has temporarily dropped into abeyance. They had a very great _coup_ on--that has failed. He has reason to suspect that they will now turn their attention to Mr Rossett." The tears coursed slowly down Mary's face. The Earl slumbered on peacefully. Then she raised her head. Her eyes flashed. She looked angrily at her sleeping father. "Oh, our poor Guy. And it is his fault,"--she pointed at the somnolent Earl--"his fault entirely. He wanted to separate him from Isobel, because he thought she was not good enough for him. He went to Greatorex, and with his influence he got this post at Madrid--and he has sent him to his death." Farquhar felt very sympathetic. No man can very properly appreciate his successful rival. But he was forced to admit that there was something in Guy Rossett that appealed alike to men and women. "Now listen, Lady Mary! Moreno tells me a lot, because to a certain extent I have been in it from the beginning. I won't bore you with details. Anyway, Moreno says he is quite certain he can save your brother. Perhaps Moreno may be a little too cocksure, he is a very vain sort of fellow. He goes so far as to hint that he might require my assistance." Mary looked puzzled. "Your assistance! But where do you come in, in this awful mix-up?" "It is perhaps a little difficult to explain." It was one of the few occasions in his life on which the self-possessed young barrister had felt embarrassed. "It is, perhaps, a little difficult to explain," he repeated. "Moreno and I are very old friends. He was one night in my chambers. He extracted a promise from me that, if he called upon me, I would help your brother."