re Cecily came on the scene; it
was natural now in Lady Evenswood. But it rendered her really useless.
It was a shock to find that, all along, in Lady Evenswood's mind Cecily
had been a step toward the peerage rather than the peerage the first
step toward Cecily. Mina wondered loftily (but silently) how woman could
take so slighting a view of woman.

"And Flora Disney has quite taken him up," Lady Evenswood pursued.
"George tells me he's been to lunch there twice. George is a terrible
gossip."

"What does Lady Flora Disney want with him?"

"Well, my dear, are you going to turn round and say you don't understand
why he interests women?"

"I don't see why he should interest Lady Flora." Mina had already made
up her mind that she hated that sort of woman. It was bad enough to have
captured Mr Disney; must the insatiate creature draw into her net Harry
Tristram also?

"And of course he's flattered. Any young man would be."

"I don't think he's improved since he left Blent."

"Country folks always say that about their young men when they come to
town," smiled Lady Evenswood. "He's learning his world, my dear. And he
seems very sensible. He hasn't inherited poor Addie's wildness."

"Yes, he has. But it only comes out now and then. When it does----"

"It won't come out with Flora," Lady Evenswood interrupted reassuringly.
"And at any rate, as you may suppose, I'm going to leave him to his own
devices. Oh, I think he's quite right, but I don't want to be wrong
myself again, that's all."

But another thing was to happen before Mina went back to the valley of
the Blent; a fearful, delightful thing. An astonishing missive came--a
card inviting her to dine with Mr and Lady Flora Disney. She gasped as
she read it. Had Lady Flora ever indulged in the same expression of
feeling, it would have been when she was asked to send it. Gasping
still, Mina telegraphed for her best frock and all the jewelled tokens
of affection which survived to testify to Adolf Zabriska's love. It was
in itself an infinitely great occasion, destined always to loom large
in memory; but it proved to have a bearing on the Tristram problem too.

For Harry was there. He sat on the hostess's left; on her other side was
handsome Lord Hove, very resplendent in full dress, starred and
ribanded. Several of the men were like that; there was some function
later on, Mina learnt from an easy-mannered youth who sat by her and
seemed bored with the party. Disney