e ground turned and held out his hand to help Isabelle to descend,
before any one else could offer her that little service.

The Marquis de Bruyeres, who had seen the chariot advancing slowly up
the avenue, stood in the porch to receive them. He was superbly dressed,
and looked very handsome, as both Serafina and the soubrette secretly
remarked. He descended two or three steps as the chariot stopped, and
welcomed his guests with a friendly wave of the hand--doing them as much
honour as if they had been of his own rank--which act of courtesy, let
us hasten to explain, was because of the Baron de Sigognac's presence
among them; but for that they would not have been brought to the main
entrance at all.

At this moment the wily soubrette, seeing her opportunity for a bold
stroke, prepared to alight; and as de Sigognac was fully occupied with
Isabelle, and nobody else thought of paying any attention to her--for
she always jumped to the ground as lightly as a bird, disdaining
assistance--she hesitated for a moment, with an adorable little air of
timidity, and then raised an appealing glance to the marquis. He could
not resist it, and, rushing down the steps to her aid, held out both
hands to her. With wonderful art the clever little actress managed
to slip and lose her balance, so as to fall into his extended arms,
clasping him around the neck as she did so.

"Pardon me, my lord," said she, breathlessly, to the marquis, feigning
a confusion she was far from really feeling, "I thought I was going to
fall, and grasped your collar, just as a drowning man clutches at the
nearest object. A fall is a bad omen, you know, as well as a serious
matter, for a poor actress."

"Permit me to look upon this little accident as a favour," the marquis
replied, giving her a most significant glance, and lightly pressing her
yielding form in his arms before he released her.

Serafina had watched this little by-play out of the corner of her eye,
though her face was apparently turned away from them, and she bit
her lip till it bled, with vexation; so after all the soubrette had
succeeded, by an abominably bold action, in compelling the marquis to
neglect her betters and give his warmest welcome to a low intrigante,
said the "leading lady" to herself, swelling with righteous indignation,
and abusing the offender roundly in her thoughts--wishing that she could
do it aloud, and expose her outrageous, unmannerly artifice.

"Jean," said the marqui