favour that I'd go."

"But what's the reason? Why is he so desperate you should be seen
there?"

Percy frowned and thought a moment.

"Has his wife--do you think it's been noticed he doesn't come here so
often?"

"It may have been. He didn't say so."

"Then it's damned impertinence of him to dare to come and ask you. Why
should I take you there to make things comfortable with him and his
wife?"

"Oh, Percy!"

"I don't want to have anything to do with them," Percy repeated,
frowning angrily at her.

She paused and said sweetly:

"Don't look worried, darling. Won't you anyhow think it over for a day
or two?"

Percy thought. He was a lawyer and it struck him that if the letters
were to be really ignored it might be better for them to go in and be
seen at the party, and if Bertha promised never to see him again, he
knew she was telling the truth. But it was hard; it jarred on him.

"We'll leave the subject for a few days, Bertha," he said. "I'll think
it over. But what I decide then must be final."

"Very well, Percy. ... I've got _such_ a lovely new dress! Pale primrose
colour."

"The dress I saw you trying on? The canary dress?"

"Yes."

"No. I'm hanged if you'll wear that there!" he exclaimed.

Bertha went into fits of laughter.

"Oh, Percy, _how_ sweet of you to say that! You're becoming a regular
jealous husband, do you know? Darling! How delightful!"

CHAPTER XX

RUPERT AGAIN

After the first reaction, Rupert felt, of course, to a certain extent,
relieved and grateful to think that he was not engaged to Madeline.
Undoubtedly, had he cared for her as she did for him, he would not have
declined to marry her because of her accepting Charlie, more or less out
of pique, or in despair. Yet, after having once really proposed he felt
his emotions stirred, and almost as soon as he had sent her back (so to
speak) to Charlie, he began to regret it--he began to be unhappy. _Au
fond_ he knew she would break it off with Charlie now, and would wait
vaguely in hope for him. At first to recover from the intense annoyance
of the whole thing, he thought he would, before Venice, go in a little
for the gaieties of Paris. Rupert was still young enough to believe that
the things presented to him as gaiety must necessarily be gay. A certain
delicacy prevented his telling Madeline this now; though formerly when
he had been to Paris, especially when he had had no intention of
accepting any Parisian opportun