g of all," said his friend, "for he
didn't shoot somebody whom perhaps he might have shot had he been
as bloodthirsty as somebody else. And now he has come back to
Parliament, and all that kind of thing, and he's coming here to hunt.
I hope you'll be glad to see him, Madame Goesler."

"I shall be very glad to see him," said Madame Goesler, slowly; "I
heard about his success at that town, and I knew that I should meet
him somewhere."

CHAPTER XV

"How well you knew!"

It was necessary also that some communication should be made to
Phineas, so that he might not come across Madame Goesler unawares.
Lady Chiltern was more alive to that necessity than she had been to
the other, and felt that the gentleman, if not warned of what was to
take place, would be much more likely than the lady to be awkward at
the trying moment. Madame Goesler would in any circumstances be sure
to recover her self-possession very quickly, even were she to lose it
for a moment; but so much could hardly be said for the social powers
of Phineas Finn. Lady Chiltern therefore contrived to see him alone
for a moment on his arrival. "Who do you think is here?"

"Lady Laura has not come!"

"Indeed, no; I wish she had. An old friend, but not so old as Laura!"

"I cannot guess;--not Lord Fawn?"

"Lord Fawn! What would Lord Fawn do here? Don't you know that Lord
Fawn goes nowhere since his last matrimonial trouble? It's a friend
of yours, not of mine."

"Madame Goesler?" whispered Phineas.

"How well you knew when I said it was a friend of yours. Madame
Goesler is here,--not altered in the least."

"Madame Goesler!"

"Does it annoy you?"

"Oh, no. Why should it annoy me?"

"You never quarrelled with her?"

"Never!"

"There is no reason why you should not meet her?"

"None at all;--only I was surprised. Did she know that I was coming?"

"I told her yesterday. I hope that I have not done wrong or made
things unpleasant. I knew that you used to be friends."

"And as friends we parted, Lady Chiltern." He had nothing more to
say in the matter; nor had she. He could not tell the story of what
had taken place between himself and the lady, and she could not keep
herself from surmising that something had taken place, which, had she
known it, would have prevented her from bringing the two together at
Harrington.

Madame Goesler, when she was dressing, acknowledged to herself that
she had a task before her which would require all her t