Don Carlos's confession to
Tony, and, incidentally, without making any mention of the fact that
she had already heard the story from Tony himself over the telephone.
"You have the laugh on Don Carlos de Ruiz now, my dear, but don't
forget the old proverb that he who laughs last laughs best. Actually,
it is not a laughing matter at all, but a crime to break a man's heart
in jest."

"You don't really suppose that Don Carlos is heart-broken, do you,
Aunt?" asked Myra.

"Frankly, I do not," responded Lady Fermanagh. "I don't quite know
what to make of it. My idea is that Don Carlos probably guessed you
had boasted you would make him fall in love with you, and he may either
be pandering to your vanity by leading you to believe you have
succeeded in your object, or else trying to make a fool of you. Be
careful, my dear! It isn't safe to trifle with men of the type of Don
Carlos de Ruiz, as I have told you before."

"Pouf! If he has actually fallen in love with me, he is more likely to
make a fool of himself than of me," Myra exclaimed.

"One never knows," Lady Fermanagh responded. "I believe you are half
in love with him as it is, Myra, and if he cared to exercise all his
powers he might be able to induce you to break with Tony."

Myra shook her red-gold head, but at heart she knew her aunt might be
right.

"Your idea, as you have admitted, was to make Don Carlos fall in love
with you in earnest, because he had made love to you in jest,"
continued Lady Fermanagh. "You wanted to have the satisfaction of
'turning him down'--to use the ultra-modern expression--and laughing at
him for losing his heart. Take care, my dear Myra, that he does not
turn the tables on you again."

"How could he?" asked Myra, feeling somewhat piqued.

"Well, it might amuse him to protest that he is heart-broken, to
persuade you to take pity on him and forsake Tony, to confess yourself
in love with him, and then in the end to remind you of his boast that
no woman could resist him, and explain that he did not want you, had
merely been testing his powers and taking revenge for your coquetry."

"Surely, he wouldn't be such a beast!"

"He might--and more particularly if he is in earnest," said Lady
Fermanagh gravely. "No man likes being laughed at, except when he is
appearing on the stage as a comedian. A man in love is particularly
sensitive to ridicule. I wonder how many murders have been committed
in Spain as a result of girls in