“What does she mean to do? That icy demeanor is ominous and threatening. Oh, if I had guessed she was here I should never have presented myself under this roof,” he thought, with alarm, and just then Royall Sherwood exclaimed banteringly: “Why so pensive this morning, Annette?” She colored deeply, and Daisie smiled and exclaimed: “Doubtless she is thinking of the grand conquest she made last night--the new social lion, Lord Werter.” Royall gave a start of surprise, and looked at his companion, saying: “Lord Werter! Is not that the name of the gentleman you were with abroad?” “Yes, for nearly five months, and we returned together but a few days ago.” Annette had another surprise, so great that she almost fell out of her chair. Ray Dering, the companion for five months of Dallas Bain, whom in his jealousy he had sworn to kill! What could it mean? In her surprise she could not help flashing him one swift look of wonder, and caught, in return, through the young man’s glasses, a look of such sorrowful deprecation that she was more and more mystified. Royall’s spirits seemed brighter than usual this morning, perhaps owing to the cheerful influence of his new friend, and as he trifled with the dainty viands on his plate, he kept up the conversation with Annette, plying her with questions about her conquest. “Is he handsome, Annette?” “Oh, yes--in a dark and stately style,” she replied. “And you think you have made an impression on his heart?” Annette blushed again, and Daisie, who seemed quite gay this morning, interposed: “If you had been there you would have thought so. They were together an hour or more in the conservatory, and Lutie and all the other women were madly jealous.” “Lord Werter is a prize worth winning,” Reed Raymond remarked, joining in the conversation. “For himself alone any woman might love him, for his nature is most noble and winning, and his standard of honor the highest. His rent roll is twenty thousand a year, and his accession to the earldom when his father dies will make him one of the wealthiest peers in the realm.” Daisie listened with even more astonishment than Annette. Could these statements be true? Then surely she had made a mistake in suspecting that the handsome nobleman was Dallas Bain himself, masquerading under a spurious title. Yes, she had made a grave mistake, and acted almost rudely toward Lord Werter, under the angry assumption that he was her old lover, the unworthy Dallas Bain. She crimsoned with mortification at the remembrance of her icy hauteur to the unconscious young man, and resolved to make amends by real cordiality when he came to call on Annette. Royall Sherwood also chimed in: “I am so interested in this wonderful Lord Werter that I intend to be present when he calls on Annette, so that I may cultivate his acquaintance.” Annette’s fluttering heart sank to the heels of her little French slippers as she thought: