"A charming woman, my dear," whispered the world, behind its fan, "always behaved with the greatest delicacy in every way. But that young Errington! Oh! good gracious! a young libertine--persecutes her with attentions and she can't possibly get rid of him. A bad young man, my dear, a very bad young man." So the world, in its usual capricious manner, changed round altogether, and whitewashed Mrs. Veilsturm as a saint, while it blackened poor Guy's character as that of an irredeemable scamp. He had a wife, whom he treated very badly, kept her shut up in a gloomy place in the country. Spent all his income in leading a fast life. Terribly in debt, and mixed up with the Hebrews. Mrs. Veilsturm had implored him, with tears in her eyes, to go back to his wife, but he resolutely declined. She was really behaving very well, but as for young Errington--well, what could be expected now-a-days? As for Saint Cleopatra, she was placed on a pedestal from whence she smiled kindly on her crowd of worshippers, and, possibly, laughed in her sleeve at the way in which she was gulling them. She had completely recovered her position in the eyes of society, and the Major chuckled complacently over the clever tactics of his friend and partner. The ball at which she was to make her last appearance in Town, was near at hand, and it seemed as though the firm were about to depart for the States in a blaze of triumph. A great change had come over Guy since his return to the feet of Mrs. Veilsturm. Formerly so hearty and cheery, he was now gloomy and morose, with a frown on his good-looking face and a pain in his heart. His wife's cruelty had wounded him deeply, and though he did not care in the least for Mrs. Veilsturm, yet he was determined, out of bravado, to persevere in his pursuit. After a time, however, he became fascinated by her beauty and persistent neglect, which feeling Cleopatra saw, and determined to profit by it when she judged fit. At present, however, in the eyes of the world she was simply a virtuous woman exposed to the addresses of a libertine, and gained a great deal of undeserved pity thereby. Eustace was still in Town, and was considerably puzzled over the whole affair, especially by the way in which Mrs. Veilsturm was behaving. He knew that she wanted to fascinate Guy for her own wicked ends, and wondered that she treated him in a way that was calculated to lose her the very prize which she strove to win. From constant observation, however, he gained a clear idea of the means she was adopting both to attract Errington and silence scandal, and could not refrain from admiring the dexterous fashion with which she played this very difficult game.