One result of Mavis' improvements in the Moon-Fay dance was that Mrs. Pelham Odin, being an old friend of the Belver manager, induced him to give Mavis a rehearsal. Of course he thought that the demure young lady who appeared was the Charity Bird he knew, and that she merely wanted to alter the dance a trifle. As the ballet was nearly at an end he scarcely deemed it necessary to grant Mrs. Pelham Odin's request, but in the end she got her own way, and Mavis was fortunate enough to have a trial trip. This assisted her greatly, as it enabled her to face a small audience before beholding the greater one. The manager was delighted with the improvements, and hinted to Mrs. Pelham Odin, as he had hinted before, that he was anxious to re-engage Miss Charity Bird for the new ballet. "No," said Mrs. Pelham Odin, privately lamenting the necessity of declining exceptionally good terms, "in a couple of weeks or so, when the run of _The Moon-Fay_ is over, my daughter and myself are going to Southend for a rest." "Miss Bird is not going to marry that Macandrew fellow, I hope?" remarked the manager, who had heard rumors. "She will be a loss to the stage." "Nothing has been arranged as yet," replied the actress evasively, and the matter dropped. When the night came for Mavis' appearance, Charity did a rash thing, in which she induced Tod to support her, although both Mrs. Pelham Odin and Gerald would have been seriously annoyed had they known. This was nothing less than to make Tod take her--closely veiled--to the gallery of the Belver Theatre to see her double, dance. Tod remonstrated, but, being very much in love, yielded in the long run, and, just before the curtain rose on _The Moon-Fay_, Charity and the lawyer found themselves very comfortably seated among the gods. The theatre was crowded as usual, as the ballet was a successful one, and Charity pointed out Gerald and Mrs. Pelham Odin in a small box near the stage. "I do hope Mavis is not afraid," whispered Charity, who was a trifle nervous herself. "No," answered Tod, in the same low tones. "I am quite certain that she will pull through all right. That girl has the heart of a lion."