ought that pendant was valuable, and, as it belonged to
my father, I would never have sold it at all if I hadn't been obliged.
What do you think I ought to do?"

"You can do nothing, Lady Daphne," he replied, "save trust that her
Majesty's anger will pass away. For whatever price she may have paid for
such a jewel, it is assuredly of far greater value than she is pleased
to assert."

"I'm _so_ glad to hear you say that!" said Daphne. "It would be hateful
to think I had cheated her Majesty--even though I never meant to."

That was all that passed between them--but the Marshal had learnt all
that he wanted to know, though he made no immediate use of his
knowledge. It was enough for him to feel that he had a card which he
might play to his own advantage when the opportunity came. The Court
Godmother was now generally known to be _hors de combat_, and as for the
old Baron, he could be left for the present in ignorance of his blunder.

Queen Selina meanwhile had already formed her plans. She was not a
positively wicked woman, and even still thought herself irreproachable.
If she had managed to separate Mirliflor and Daphne by some hard
fibbing, it was only what her duty as a Queen and as a Mother demanded
of her. She had never liked this Miss Heritage, and firmly believed that
Daphne had alienated Mirliflor's affection from Edna to herself. And
now, it seemed, she was the lawful Queen of the country, and Queen
Selina had grown too habituated to power and grandeur to give them up to
this inexperienced girl. Her first idea had been to carry out her
original intention and have Daphne sent home to England without further
delay. But this, she began to see, would expose her to considerable
criticism at Court, and it occurred to her that there might be a simpler
and more satisfactory way out of her difficulties.

So, full of her latest project, she went in search of Clarence, whom she
found lounging with a very moody and disconsolate air in one of the
balconies. Clarence was in low spirits just then, and not without
reason. He had entirely lost his nerve for horsemanship, as his mounts
had become as refractory as ever; he could not help perceiving that the
courtiers had lost all respect for him, and received his overtures with
hardly veiled impertinence; and, besides all this, there was another
matter that had been weighing on his mind for some time past.

"Why, Clarence, dear boy," she began, "what are you keeping away from