y up. Lady
Charles was coming at half-past five to get the address of that fur
place Flora knew of, where you got things practically for nothing--and
they were worth it, too.

"I know I'm not so very young," continued the young man.

"Why, you're only about thirty-four, aren't you? I call that young."

"Do you--do you really? Now I was afraid I was getting rather too old to
begin, as it were, a fresh life. Well now"--he came a little nearer and
touched her hand, which lay on the table; it was a pretty hand, thin and
bony, with pink polished nails and a garnet ring--"will you do it for
me? will you help me? will you not think me foolish--too daring--too
sanguine?..."

"What?"

"Yes. I see you've guessed. Yes. I want to go on the stage."

CHAPTER XV

MISS WALMER

"And so you see, don't you, Lady Walmer, that I really simply couldn't
do it--I mean I must do it. They're expecting me there for the whole
summer. How could I throw them over at the last minute?"

Harry spoke in his most convincing voice. He was calling on Lady Walmer,
and they were both sitting in her little yellow boudoir. She had just
come in from a bazaar, and was wearing a rather angry-looking hat, very
much turned up on one side, with enormous purple feathers. She was
looking very far from pleased. Her handsome chin appeared squarer than
usual. There was a look in her eyes that more than one man besides Harry
would have been by no means anxious to meet.

She drew off her gloves, stroked one over the other thoughtfully, and
said--

"Why did you promise to come on the yacht? The whole summer's spoilt for
Alec."

"I hoped I could--I thought I could manage it. Surely you
understand----"

"But it's got to come to that sooner or later, Harry. You can't make an
omelette without breaking eggs. If you want to be a respectable, dull
married man, you'll have to dissolve your romance, you know. I should
have thought you were the last person to be weak about anybody else's
feelings!--No, it's your own, my dear boy."

Harry's colour rose a little.

"My dear Lady Walmer! I'm going to tell--my cousin Valentia--all about
it--I mean about my hopes. I'm certain that she will be charming about
it--only too glad, for my sake."

"Oh! And yet I thought she was human! Or--is there some one else?"

"Certainly there's some one else--there's Romer. She's very devoted to
him."

"Harry, my boy, we should get on so very much better if you wouldn't
tell