him at dinner."

"He shall not wear her colours," said Endymion quite angrily. "I will
speak to the King of the Tournament about it directly."

"Why, what does it signify?" said Adriana.

"You thought it signified when I told you Regy Sutton was going to wear
your colours."

"Ah! that is quite a different business," said Adriana, with a sigh.

Reginald Sutton was a professed admirer of Adriana, rode with her
whenever he could, and danced with her immensely. She gave him cold
encouragement, though he was the best-looking and best-dressed youth
in England; but he was a determined young hero, not gifted with too
sensitive nerves, and was a votary of the great theory that all in life
was an affair of will, and that endowed with sufficient energy he might
marry whom he liked. He accounted for his slow advance in London by the
inimical presence of Mrs. Neuchatel, who he felt, or fancied, did not
sympathise with him; while, on the contrary, he got on very well with
the father, and so he was determined to seize the present opportunity.
The mother was absent, and he himself in a commanding position, being
one of the knights to whose exploits the eyes of all England were
attracted.

Lord Roehampton was seated between an ambassadress and Berengaria,
indulging in gentle and sweet-voiced raillery; the Count of Ferroll was
standing beside Lady Montfort, and Mr. Wilton was opposite to the group.
The Count of Ferroll rarely spoke, but listened to Lady Montfort with
what she called one of his dark smiles.

"All I know is, she will never pardon you for not asking her," said Lord
Roehampton. "I saw Bicester the day I left town, and he was very
grumpy. He said that Lady Bicester was the only person who understood
tournaments. She had studied the subject."

"I suppose she wanted to be the Queen of Beauty," said Berengaria.

"You are too severe, my dear lady. I think she would have been contented
with a knight wearing her colours."

"Well, I cannot help it," said Berengaria, but somewhat doubtingly. And
then, after a moment's pause, "She is too ugly."

"Why, she came to my fancy ball, and it is not five years ago, as Mary
Queen of Scots!"

"That must have been after the Queen's decapitation," said Berengaria.

"I wonder you did not ask Zenobia," said Mr. Wilton.

"Of course I asked her, but I knew she would not come. She is in one
of her hatreds now. She said she would have come, only she had
half-promised to give a ball to