ime to
his sister Lady Helen. The Varleys had only just come up to town for the
opening of Parliament, and Lady Helen had come to-night to Martin
Street, all ardour to see Hugh's new adoration, and the girl whom all
the world was beginning to talk about--both as a beauty and as an
artist. She rushed at Rose, if any word so violent can be applied to
anything so light and airy as Lady Helen's movements, caught the girl's
hands in both hers, and, gazing up at her with undisguised admiration,
said to her the prettiest, daintiest, most effusive things possible.
Rose--who with all her lithe shapeliness, looked over-tall and even a
trifle stiff beside the tiny bird-like Lady Helen--took the advances of
Hugh Flaxman's sister with a pretty flush of flattered pride. She looked
down at the small radiant creature with soft and friendly eyes, and Hugh
Flaxman stood by, so far well pleased.

Then he went off to fetch Mr. Denman, the hero of the evening, to be
introduced to her. While he was away, Agnes, who was behind her sister,
saw Rose's eyes wandering from Lady Helen to the door, restlessly
searching and then returning.

Presently through the growing crowd round the entrance Agnes spied a
well-known form emerging.

'Mr. Langham! But Rose never told me he was to be here to-night, and how
_dreadful_ he looks!'

Agnes was so startled that her eyes followed Langham closely across the
room. Rose had seen him at once; and they had greeted each other across
the crowd. Agnes was absorbed, trying to analyse what had struck her so.
The face was always melancholy, always pale, but to-night it was
ghastly, and from the whiteness of cheek and brow, the eyes, the
jet-black hair stood out in intense and disagreeable relief. She would
have remarked on it to Rose, but that Rose's attention was claimed by
the young thought-reader, Mr. Denman, whom Mr. Flaxman had brought up.
Mr. Denman was a fair-haired young Hercules, whose tremulous agitated
manner contrasted oddly with his athlete's looks. Among other magnetisms
he was clearly open to the magnetism of women, and he stayed talking to
Rose, staring furtively at her the while from under his heavy
lids,--much longer than the girl thought fair.

'Have you seen any experiments in the working of this new force before?'
he asked her, with a solemnity which sat oddly on his commonplace
bearded face.

'Oh yes!' she said flippantly. 'We have tried it sometimes. It is very
good fun.'

He drew him