invitations and their
courtesies."

Jeanne looked up.

"Why do you say 'believes to be?'" she asked quickly. "I am a great
heiress, am I not?"

The Princess smiled, a slow, enigmatic smile, which might have meant
anything, but which to Jeanne meant nothing at all.

"My dear child," she said, "of course you are. The papers have said so,
Society has believed them. If I were to go out and declare right and
left that you had nothing but a beggarly twenty thousand pounds or so,
I should not find a soul to believe me. Every one would believe that I
was trying to scare them off, to keep you for myself, or some one of my
own choice. Really it is a very odd world!"

Jeanne was looking a little pensive. Her stepmother sometimes
completely puzzled her.

"Who are the trustees of my money?" she asked, a little abruptly.

The Princess raised her eyebrows.

"Bless the child!" she exclaimed. "What do you know about trustees?"

"When I am of age," Jeanne said calmly, "which will happen sometime or
other, I suppose, it will interest me to know exactly how much money I
have and how it is invested."

The Princess looked a little startled.

"My dear Jeanne," she exclaimed, "pray don't talk like that until after
you are married. Your money is being very well looked after. What I
should like you to understand is this. You are going to meet to-night
at dinner the man whom I intend you to marry."

Jeanne raised her eyebrows.

"I had some idea," she murmured, "of choosing a husband for myself."

"Impossible!" the Princess declared. "You have had no experience, and
you are far too important a person to be allowed to think of such a
thing. To-night at dinner you will meet the Count de Brensault. He is a
Belgian of excellent family, quite rich, and very much attracted by
you. I consider him entirely suitable, and I have advised him to speak
to you seriously."

"Thank you," Jeanne said, "but I don't like Belgians, and I do not mean
to marry one."

The Princess laughed, a little unpleasantly.

"My dear child," she said, "you may make a fuss about it, but
eventually you will have to marry whom I say. You must remember that
you are French, not English, and that I am your guardian. If you want
to choose for yourself, you will have to wait three or four years
before the law allows you to do so."

"Then I will wait three or four years," Jeanne answered quietly. "I
have no idea of marrying the Count de Brensault."

The Princess ra