mely personal, especially coming from a stranger; but the
lady was an American, with an extremely pretty face and a charming
manner, and there was so much gentleness, almost deprecatory gentleness
in her softly bright eyes, that Drake, somehow, could not feel any
resentment.

"Not the very least in the world, I assure you," he replied. "My uncle
had a perfect right to marry when he pleased, and whom he pleased."

"I didn't think you'd be angry with him," she said, "because everybody
says you were such friends, and you are so fond of him; but I thought
you'd be riled with her."

Drake laughed rather grimly.

"Not in the least," he said. "Of course, I should have preferred that my
uncle should remain single, but I can't be absurd enough to quarrel with
a lady for marrying him. He is a very charming man, and perhaps she
couldn't help herself."

"That's just it--she couldn't," said the lady naively. "And have you
been to see your uncle since you've been back?" she asked.

"Not yet," replied Drake. "I only came back to London an hour or two
ago, but I will look him up to-morrow."

"I knew you would," she said; "because that was such a nice letter you
wrote, and such a pretty present you sent to Lady Angleford."

As she spoke, she transferred her fan to her left hand and raised her
right arm, and Drake recognized upon her wrist a bracelet which he had
sent Lady Angleford as a wedding present. He colored and frowned
slightly, then he laughed as he met the now timid and quite deprecatory
gaze of the upturned eyes.

"Was this quite fair, Lady Angleford?" he said, smiling.

"Well, I don't know," she said, a little pathetically. "I thought it
was, but I'm not quite sure now. You see, I wanted to meet you and talk
to you, and know exactly how you felt toward me without your knowing who
I was."

Drake went and sat down beside her, and leaned toward her with one arm
stretched on the back of her chair.

"But why?" he asked.

"Well, you see, I was a little afraid of you. When Lord Angleford asked
me to marry him and I consented, I didn't quite realize how things stood
between you and him. It was not until I came to Europe--I mean to
England--that I realized that I had, so to speak, come between your
uncle and you. And that made me feel bad, because everybody I met told
me that you were such a--a good fellow, as they call it----"

"One Englishman will become conceited, if you don't take care, Lady
Angleford," put in Dr