aid, a flash of laughter in her dark eyes.
"We'll manage him between us, won't we?"

The young man, dazzled by her prettiness and her strangeness, murmured a
hopeful assent. Lord Grosville, with the air of a man determined on
dinner though the skies fall, offered his arm to Lady Edith Manley, the
wife of the cabinet minister, and made for the dining-room. The stream
of guests followed; when suddenly the puppy, perceiving on the floor a
ball of wool which had rolled out of Lady Grosville's work-table,
escaped in an ecstasy of mischief from his mistress's arm and flew upon
the ball. Kitty rushed after him; the wool first unrolled, then caught;
the table overturned and all its contents were flung pell-mell in the
path of Lady Grosville, who, on the arm of the amused and astonished
minister, was waiting in restrained fury till her guests should pass.

* * * * *

"I shall never get over this," said Lady Kitty, as she leaned back in
her chair, still panting, and quite incapable of eating any of the foods
that were being offered to her in quick succession.

"I don't know that you deserve to," said Ashe, turning a face upon her
which was as grave as he could make it. The attention of every one else
round the room was also in truth occupied with his companion. There was,
indeed, a general buzz of conversation and a general pretence that Lady
Kitty's proceedings might now be ignored. But in reality every guest,
male or female, kept a stealthy watch on the red butterfly and the
sparkling face beneath it; and Ashe was well aware of it.

"I vow it was not my fault," said Kitty, with dignity. "I was not
allowed to have the dog I should have had. You'd never have found a dog
of St. Hubert condescending to bedroom slippers! But as I had to have a
dog--and Colonel Warington gave me this one three days ago--and he has
already ruined half maman's things, and no one could manage him but me,
I just had to bring him, and trust to Providence."

"I have been here a good many times," said Ashe, "and I never yet saw a
dog in the sanctuary. Do you know that Pitt once wrote a speech in the
library?"

"Did he? I'm sure it never made such a stir as Ponto did." Kitty's face
suddenly broke into laughter, and she hid it a moment in her hands.

"You brazen it out," said Ashe; "but how are you going to appease Lady
Grosville?"

Kitty ceased to laugh. She drew herself up, and looked seriously,
observantly at her au