ailingly "report"; she brought it out in fact, he thought, quite
wonderfully--having attained the summit of the wonderful during the
brief interval that had separated her appeal to Charlotte from this
passage with himself. She had taken the five minutes, obviously, amid
the rest of the talk and the movement, to retire into her tent for
meditation--which showed, among several things, the impression Charlotte
had made on her. It was from the tent she emerged, as with arms
refurbished; though who indeed could say if the manner in which she now
met him spoke most, really, of the glitter of battle or of the white
waver of the flag of truce? The parley was short either way; the
gallantry of her offer was all sufficient.

"I'll go to our friends then--I'll ask for luncheon. I'll tell them when
to expect you."

"That will be charming. Say we're all right."

"All right--precisely. I can't say more," Mrs. Assingham smiled.

"No doubt." But he considered, as for the possible importance of it.
"Neither can you, by what I seem to feel, say less."

"Oh, I WON'T say less!" Fanny laughed; with which, the next moment, she
had turned away. But they had it again, not less bravely, on the
morrow, after breakfast, in the thick of the advancing carriages and the
exchange of farewells. "I think I'll send home my maid from Euston," she
was then prepared to amend, "and go to Eaton Square straight. So you can
be easy."

"Oh, I think we're easy," the Prince returned. "Be sure to say, at any
rate, that we're bearing up."

"You're bearing up--good. And Charlotte returns to dinner?"

"To dinner. We're not likely, I think, to make another night away."

"Well then, I wish you at least a pleasant day,"

"Oh," he laughed as they separated, "we shall do our best for
it!"--after which, in due course, with the announcement of their
conveyance, the Assinghams rolled off.

XXII

It was quite, for the Prince, after this, as if the view had further
cleared; so that the half-hour during which he strolled on the terrace
and smoked--the day being lovely--overflowed with the plenitude of its
particular quality. Its general brightness was composed, doubtless, of
many elements, but what shone out of it as if the whole place and time
had been a great picture, from the hand of genius, presented to him as
a prime ornament for his collection and all varnished and framed to
hang up--what marked it especially for the highest ap