, leaving the place of honour on the front seat to her
husband and his guest, rewarded sufficiently for her diffidence by a
smile which her handsome lord threw her, as he lay back on the yellow
satin cushions of his over-decorated coach.

It was but a step to the castle gate, and as Oberhofmarshall Stafforth
might have walked through the Duke's private garden and gained a side
entrance to the castle, and thence traversed the short distance to the
Lusthaus, but he chose rather to drive through the crowd in order to
arrive with ostentatious flourish.

The coach drew up at the entrance, and many curious eyes were fixed upon
the Oberhofmarshall as he led his guest through the throng to the door of
the disrobing room. Madame de Stafforth followed, and, being unable to
push her way so quickly past the people, it was a moment or two before
she rejoined Wilhelmine, who was removing her wrap in a leisurely way
while the other ladies there eyed her rudely. It was very like the advent
of a strange bird into a cage of canaries; the indigenous birds were all
prepared to peck at the intruder. How willingly would they have torn out
the strange bird's feathers! Wilhelmine appeared unconscious of this
unfriendly scrutiny, though, in reality, she was disagreeably aware of
it. Madame de Stafforth had torn the hem of her skirt walking through the
crowded antehall, and she begged the attendant to sew it for her.
Wilhelmine was obliged to wait, and nearly all the company had streamed
into the dancing-hall before the two ladies were ready. Fate played
Wilhelmine a nasty trick in this--a throw-back in fact; for when they
reached the hall the effect of their entrance was hidden by the crowd,
and his Highness Eberhard Ludwig had already left the dais before which
the courtiers passed and bowed. Only her Highness Johanna Elizabetha
remained to receive the salutes of the late arrivals.

Stafforth had hurried away; the Duchess was so unimportant, poor soul!
and he could make his bow to her later in the evening. Besides, he had
his duties to attend to: he must glance at the long supper-tables in the
apartment adjoining the dancing-hall, he must see that all the
arrangements were perfect. So Madame de Stafforth presented Fraeulein
Wilhelmine von Graevenitz to her Highness Johanna Elizabetha, Duchess of
Wirtemberg. The dull, amiable woman gave Wilhelmine her hand to kiss and
turned away, indifferent, unconcerned. So little do we know when we first
a