anxiety for his neighbour's steadiness, stood near him and with
tender, maudlin solicitude began to flick the grains of bergamot
scented snuff from the lace of Lord Cedric's steenkirk. At the same
time from the glass he held there spilled on his Lordship's brocaded
coat of blue and silver a good half-pint of wine. Cedric upon being
balanced had forgotten what he wanted to say, and turned to his
supporter.

"What was it Holt-colm--I was goin' to shay?" Neither could remember,
so his Lordship continued with what seemed to weigh upon his mind:

"'Tis thish: 'tis my deshire thish should be made a memorable--a night
worthy of remembrance. I'm about to espoushe my fair ward--and this is
positively my lasht appearance _en bout_--I know and am fully aware
_abondance de bien ne nuit_ until a better comes. To-night will be my
finale de-bauch--sho; tell the red beauty to come here." He sat down
upon the table and gazed with heavy, drooping lids upon the dancing
girl that came toward him. "Thou art a saucy baggage; but--hic--thou
art false of colour and--hic--flesh. Thy lips and cheeks are stained
with rouge--hic--and thy flesh--is--hic--pushed to prominence by high
stays--by God, it turns my stomach to--nausea." And he turned over and
lay flat upon the table. "Bring on another--shay--we must have the
moonlight beauty again." Katherine was well frightened and made
several efforts to persuade her companion to go away. It was part of
Constance' programme to cause Katherine's disgust at sight of Cedric's
wantonness. She felt it had been accomplished, and as there were other
matters to be about, she turned with her and together they groped back
up the stairs in the darkness, and found Janet feigning sleep in a
chair before the fire, Constance yawned and declared herself to be
tired out, and bade Katherine _adieu_. Janet closed the door after her
and in haste began putting her mistress to bed. And after giving her a
bath and rubbing, she snuffed the candles and went to her own room to
slip out again and go below stairs and find the curtained doorway,
there to watch and wait for that which was to come. She had seen as
much as Constance and Katherine, and she determined to see even more.
She would know how Lord Cedric appeared in his cups. There was nothing
anomalous in what was before her; 'twas as she had often seen in the
grand house in which she had served as maid; the same licentiousness,
wild riot and debaucheries that have been s