a disease or physical
seizure. The middle-aged lady looked at him with obvious astonishment,
then turned away and spoke to the French actor.

Miss Schley moved slowly into the middle of the room. She did not seem
to see Fritz. Two or three people came to speak to her. She smiled but
did not say much. The little wiry-looking old lady, her mother from
Susanville, stood by her in an effaced manner, and Leo, holding the
bouquet, remained close beside her, standing over her in his impudent
fashion like a privileged guardian and lover.

Lady Holme was watching Fritz. The necessary suppression of his anger
at such a moment, and in such surroundings, suppression of any
demonstration of it at least, was evidently torturing him. Someone--a
man--spoke to him. His wife saw that he seemed to choke something down
before he could get out a word in reply. Directly he had answered he
moved away from the man towards Miss Schley, but he did not go up to
her. He did not trust himself to do that. He stood still again, staring.
Leo bent protectively over the American. She smiled at him demurely
beneath lowered eyelids. The little old lady shook out her rusty black
dress and assumed an absurd air of social sprightliness, making a mouth
bunched up like an old-fashioned purse sharply drawn together by a
string.

There was a sudden lull in the roar of conversation from the
concert-room, succeeded by a wide rustling noise. The Princesses had
at length arrived, and the audience was standing up as they came in and
took their seats. After a brief silence the rustling noise was renewed
as the audience sat down again. Then the pianist hurried up to a
grave-looking girl who was tenderly holding a violin, took her hand and
led her away behind the screen. A moment later the opening bars of a
duet were audible.

The people in the artists' room began to sit down with a slight air of
resignation. The French actor looked at the very pointed toes of his
varnished boots and composed his india-rubber features into a solemn,
almost priestly, expression. Lady Holme went over to a sofa near the
screen and listened attentively to the duet, but from time to time
she glanced towards the middle of the room where Miss Schley was
still calmly standing up with Leo holding the bouquet. The mother from
Susanville had subsided on a small chair with gilt legs, spread out
her meagre gown, and assumed the aspect of a roosting bird at twilight.
Fritz stood up with his back