"I tell you what, Francis," he said presently, after the conversation
had drifted from these topics and cigars and liqueurs had come, "I would
like my cousin Ethelrida to meet Countess Shulski pretty soon. I don't
know why, but I believe the two would get on."

"There is no use suggesting any meetings until my niece returns from
Paris," the financier said. "She will be in a different mood by then.
She had not, when she came to England, quite put off her mourning; she
will then have beautiful clothes, and be more acquiescent in every way.
Now she would be antagonistic. See her this afternoon and be sensible;
make up your mind to postpone things, until her return. And even then be
careful until she is your wife!"

Lord Tancred looked disappointed. "It is a long time," he said.

"Let me arrange to give a dinner at my house, at which perhaps the Duke
and Lady Ethelrida would honor me by being present, and your mother and
sisters and any other member of your family you wish, let us say, on the
night of my niece's return" (he drew a small calendar notebook from his
pocket). "That will be Wednesday, the 18th, and we will fix the wedding
for Wednesday the 25th, a week later. That gets you back from your
honeymoon on the 1st of November; you can stay with me that night, and
if your uncle is good enough to include me in the invitation to his
shoot we can all three go down to Montfitchet on the following day. Is
all this well? If so I will write it down."

"Perfectly well," agreed the prospective bridegroom--and having no
notebook or calendar, he scribbled the reminder for himself on his cuff.
Higgins, his superb valet, knew a good deal of his lordship's history
from his lordship's cuffs!

"I don't think I shall wait for tea-time, Francis," he said, when they
got out of the restaurant, into the hall. "I think I'll go now, and get
it over, if she will be in. Could I telephone and ask?"

He did so and received the reply from Turner that Countess Shulski was
at home, but could not receive his lordship until half-past four
o'clock.

"Damn!" said that gentleman as he put the receiver down, and Francis
Markrute turned away to hide his smile.

"You had better go and buy an engagement ring, hadn't you?" he said. "It
won't do to forget that."

"Good Lord, I had forgotten!" gasped Tristram.

"Well, I have lots of time to do it now, so I'll go to the family
jewelers, they are called old-fashioned, but the stones are so good."