yed in all her
glory, just as she was about to descend to her carriage. "You've got
the necklace on!" said Miss Macnulty. "Why should I not wear my own
necklace?" she asked, with assumed anger.

Lady Glencora's rooms were already very full when Lizzie entered
them, but she was without a gentleman, and room was made for her
to pass quickly up the stairs. The diamonds had been recognised by
many before she had reached the drawing-room;--not that these very
diamonds were known, or that there was a special memory for that
necklace;--but the subject had been so generally discussed, that the
blaze of the stones immediately brought it to the minds of men and
women. "There she is, with poor Eustace's twenty thousand pounds
round her neck," said Laurence Fitzgibbon to his friend Barrington
Erle. "And there is Lord Fawn going to look after them," replied the
other.

Lord Fawn thought it right, at any rate, to look after his bride.
Lady Glencora had whispered into his ear before they went down to
dinner that Lady Eustace would be there in the evening, so that he
might have the option of escaping or remaining. Could he have escaped
without any one knowing that he had escaped, he would not have gone
up-stairs after dinner; but he knew that he was observed; he knew
that people were talking about him; and he did not like it to be said
that he had run away. He went up, thinking much of it all, and as
soon as he saw Lady Eustace he made his way to her and accosted her.
Many eyes were upon them, but no ear probably heard how infinitely
unimportant were the words which they spoke to each other. Her manner
was excellent. She smiled and gave him her hand,--just her hand
without the slightest pressure,--and spoke a half-whispered word,
looking into his face, but betraying nothing by her look. Then he
asked her whether she would dance. Yes;--she would stand up for a
quadrille; and they did stand up for a quadrille. As she danced with
no one else, it was clear that she treated Lord Fawn as her lover.
As soon as the dance was done she took his arm and moved for a few
minutes about the room with him. She was very conscious of the
diamonds, but she did not show the feeling in her face. He also was
conscious of them, and he did show it. He did not recognise the
necklace, but he knew well that this was the very bone of contention.
They were very beautiful, and seemed to him to outshine all other
jewellery in the room. And Lady Eustace was a woma