asury Chambers, and had
been glad to escape from her ill-humour. But she could not endure
any longer the annoyance of having to get all her news through Mrs.
Finn,--second hand, or third hand, and now found herself driven to
capitulate. "Well," she said; "how is it all going to be? I suppose
you do not know or you would have told me?"

"There is very little to tell."

"Mr. Monk is to be Prime Minister?" she asked.

"I did not say so. But it is not impossible."

"Has the Queen sent for him?"

"Not as yet. Her Majesty has seen both Mr. Gresham and Mr. Daubeny as
well as myself. It does not seem a very easy thing to make a Ministry
just at present."

"Why should not you go back?"

"I do not think that is on the cards."

"Why not? Ever so many men have done it, after going out,--and why
not you? I remember Mr. Mildmay doing it twice. It is always the
thing when the man who has been sent for makes a mess of it, for the
old minister to have another chance."

"But what if the old minister will not take the chance?"

"Then it is the old minister's fault. Why shouldn't you take the
chance as well as another? It isn't many days ago since you were
quite anxious to remain in. I thought you were going to break your
heart because people even talked of your going."

"I was going to break my heart, as you call it," he said, smiling,
"not because people talked of my ceasing to be minister, but because
the feeling of the House of Commons justified people in so saying. I
hope you see the difference."

"No, I don't. And there is no difference. The people we are talking
about are the members,--and they have supported you. You could go on
if you chose. I'm sure Mr. Monk wouldn't leave you."

"It is just what Mr. Monk would do, and ought to do. No one is less
likely than Mr. Monk to behave badly in such an emergency. The more I
see of Mr. Monk, the higher I think of him."

"He has his own game to play as well as others."

"I think he has no game to play but that of his country. It is no use
our discussing it, Cora."

"Of course I understand nothing, because I'm a woman."

"You understand a great deal,--but not quite all. You may at any rate
understand this,--that our troubles are at an end. You were saying
but the other day that the labours of being a Prime Minister's wife
had been almost too many for you."

"I never said so. As long as you didn't give way no labour was
too much for me. I would have done anything,--sla