nows when it will be?" Adelaide had said. Lady Chiltern had
good-naturedly replied that the longer it was put off the better
for herself. "But you'll be going to London or abroad before that
day comes." Lady Chiltern declared that she looked forward to
no festivities which could under any circumstances remove her
four-and-twenty hours travelling distance from the kennels. Probably
she might go up to London for a couple of months as soon as the
hunting was over, and the hounds had been drafted, and the horses had
been coddled, and every covert had been visited. From the month of
May till the middle of July she might, perhaps, be allowed to be in
town, as communications by telegram could now be made day and night.
After that, preparations for cub-hunting would be imminent, and,
as a matter of course, it would be necessary that she should be at
Harrington Hall at so important a period of the year. During those
couple of months she would be very happy to have the companionship of
her friend, and she hinted that Gerard Maule would certainly be in
town. "I begin to think it would have been better that I should never
have seen Gerard Maule," said Adelaide Palliser.

This happened about the middle of March, while hunting was still in
force. Gerard's horses were standing in the neighbourhood, but Gerard
himself was not there. Mr. Spooner, since that short, disheartening
note had been sent to him by Lord Chiltern, had not been seen at
Harrington. There was a Harrington Lawn Meet on one occasion, but
he had not appeared till the hounds were at the neighbouring covert
side. Nevertheless he had declared that he did not intend to give
up the pursuit, and had even muttered something of the sort to Lord
Chiltern. "I am one of those fellows who stick to a thing, you know,"
he said.

"I am afraid you had better give up sticking to her, because she's
going to marry somebody else."

"I've heard all about that, my lord. He's a very nice sort of young
man, but I'm told he hasn't got his house ready yet for a family."
All which Lord Chiltern repeated to his wife. Neither of them spoke
to Adelaide again about Mr. Spooner; but this did cause a feeling in
Lady Chiltern's mind that perhaps this engagement with young Maule
was a foolish thing, and that, if so, she was in a great measure
responsible for the folly.

"Don't you think you'd better write to him?" she said, one morning.

"Why does he not write to me?"

"But he did,--when he wrot