atient and considerate of chaperons,
sitting wide-eyed and cheerful till her charge had danced through the
programme if it so pleased her; going hither and thither to crowded At
Homes, attending first nights at the play--doing, in fact, everything to
give Nelly a good time. To be sure, the Dowager attached no importance
to the name of Langrishe any more than the General did to that of Rooke.

Mrs. Rooke gave a good many dances after Christmas, and Nelly was at
them all. Sometimes Robin was there, sometimes that was not possible.
And Robin was out of his element at such gatherings, since he did not
dance and could find no conversation to his mind while he leant against
the wall of the ball-room or hung about the doors. Life was so full of
work for him that it seemed unreasonable to keep him where there was
nothing he could do.

Captain Langrishe turned up at the dances as unfailingly as Nelly
herself. He came in spite of many resolutions to the contrary, as the
moth comes to singe its wings in the flame of the candle. He did not
make Nelly conspicuous for the Dowager or anyone else to see. Sometimes
he asked her for several dances. Again, he would be merely polite in
asking her for one; and would yield her up coldly to her next partner
and never come to her side again for the rest of the evening. Unlike Sir
Robin, he danced conspicuously well. Nelly had thrilled to a speech of
Robin's: "One cannot despise the art of dancing for a man when a fellow
like that thinks it worth his while to excel in it."

One night, when the guests had departed, Mrs. Rooke had something to
tell her husband.

"That little wretch, Nelly Drummond!" she said. "I thought she was as
innocent and candid as a child. Would you believe it that all the time
she has been engaged to that gawky cousin of hers?"

"My dear Belinda, all what time?"

"Well, for a lawyer, Cyprian----"

"I know I'm obtuse, but the law doesn't favour deductions. All what
time?"

"Why, all the time poor Godfrey's been falling head over ears in love
with her."

Mr. Rooke whistled. He was fond of his wife's brother.

"Are you sure, Bel? I noticed particularly that he was dancing with the
wallflowers to-night. He's a good fellow, so that didn't surprise me.
Now you mention it, I caught sight of the little girl dancing with Jack
Menzies. She didn't look particularly happy."

"She hasn't been looking particularly happy. I have been imagining that
Godfrey's poverty stood b