t, she thought,
understand well enough how sore it must be for her to descend from
her princely entertainments to solitude at Matching, and thus to own
before all the world that she was beaten. Then when she asked him
for advice, when she was really anxious to know how far she might go
in filling her house without offending him, he told her to ask Lady
Rosina De Courcy! If he chose to be ridiculous he might. She would
ask Lady Rosina De Courcy. In her active anger she did write to Lady
Rosina De Courcy a formal letter, in which she said that the Duke
hoped to have the pleasure of her ladyship's company at Matching Park
on the 1st of August. It was an absurd letter, somewhat long, written
very much in the Duke's name, with overwhelming expressions of
affection, instigated in the writer's mind partly by the fun of the
supposition that such a man as her husband should flirt with such a
woman as Lady Rosina. There was something too of anger in what she
wrote, some touch of revenge. She sent off this invitation, and she
sent no other. Lady Rosina took it all in good part, and replied
saying that she should have the greatest pleasure in going to
Matching. She had declared to herself that she would ask none but
those he had named, and in accordance with her resolution she sent
out no other written invitations.

He had also told her to ask Mrs. Finn. Now this had become almost a
matter of course. There had grown up from accidental circumstances so
strong a bond between these two women, that it was taken for granted
by both their husbands that they should be nearly always within
reach of one another. And the two husbands were also on kindly, if
not affectionate, terms with each other. The nature of the Duke's
character was such that, with a most loving heart, he was hardly
capable of that opening out of himself to another which is necessary
for positive friendship. There was a stiff reserve about him, of
which he was himself only too conscious, which almost prohibited
friendship. But he liked Mr. Finn both as a man and a member of his
party, and was always satisfied to have him as a guest. The Duchess,
therefore, had taken it for granted that Mrs. Finn would come to
her,--and that Mr. Finn would come also during any time that he might
be able to escape from Ireland. But, when the invitation was verbally
conveyed, Mr. Finn had gone to the Admiralty, and had already made
his arrangements for going to sea, as a gallant sailor shou