He might expect it, as one
is asking him to dine. I wish him to be asked. The Dunholms have taken
him up so tremendously that no festivity seems complete without him."

He had been invited to the garden party, and had appeared, but Betty
had seen little of him. It is easy to see little of a guest at an
out-of-door festivity. In assisting Rosalie to attend to her visitors
she had been much occupied, but she had known that she might have seen
more of him, if he had intended that it should be so. He did not--for
reasons of his own--intend that it should be so, and this she became
aware of. So she walked, played in the bowling green, danced and talked
with Westholt, Tommy Alanby and others.

"He does not want to talk to me. He will not, if he can avoid it," was
what she said to herself.

She saw that he rather sought out Mary Lithcom, who was not accustomed
to receiving special attention. The two walked together, danced
together, and in adjoining chairs watched the performance in the
embowered theatre. Lady Mary enjoyed her companion very much, but she
wondered why he had attached himself to her.

Betty Vanderpoel asked herself what they talked to each other about,
and did not suspect the truth, which was that they talked a good deal of
herself.

"Have you seen much of Miss Vanderpoel?" Lady Mary had begun by asking.

"I have SEEN her a good deal, as no doubt you have."

Lady Mary's plain face expressed a somewhat touched reflectiveness.

"Do you know," she said, "that the garden parties have been a different
thing this whole summer, just because one always knew one would see her
at them?"

A short laugh from Mount Dunstan.

"Jane and I have gone to every garden party within twenty miles, ever
since we left the schoolroom. And we are very tired of them. But this
year we have quite cheered up. When we are dressing to go to something
dull, we say to each other, 'Well, at any rate, Miss Vanderpoel will be
there, and we shall see what she has on, and how her things are made,'
and that's something--besides the fun of watching people make up to her,
and hearing them talk about the men who want to marry her, and wonder
which one she will take. She will not take anyone in this place," the
nice turned-up nose slightly suggesting a derisive sniff. "Who is there
who is suitable?"

Mount Dunstan laughed shortly again.

"How do you know I am not an aspirant myself?" he said. He had a
mirthless sense of enjoyment in his ow