on the
sands. It had become necessary, and you are too much of a
man to care much for any truth being told. He was terribly
angry both with me and with you; but the fact is, he is so
blindly unreasonable that one cannot regard his anger. I
endeavoured to tell the story truly, and, so told, it
certainly should not have injured you in his estimation.
But it did. Very sorry, old fellow, and I hope you'll get
over it. It is a good deal more important to me than to
you.

Yours,

C.

There was not a word about Violet. But then it was hardly to be
expected that there should be words about Violet. It was not likely
that a man should write to his rival of his own failure. But yet
there was a flavour of Violet in the letter which would not have been
there, so Phineas thought, if the writer had been despondent. The
pleasant little meeting on the sands had been convened altogether in
respect of Violet. And the telling of the story to the Earl must have
arisen from discussions about Violet. Lord Chiltern must have told
his father that Phineas was his rival. Could the rejected suitor have
written on such a subject in such a strain to such a correspondent
if he had believed his own rejection to be certain? But then
Lord Chiltern was not like anybody else in the world, and it was
impossible to judge of him by one's experience of the motives of
others.

Shortly afterwards Phineas did call in Berkeley Square, and was shown
up at once into Lady Baldock's drawing-room. The whole aspect of the
porter's countenance was changed towards him, and from this, too, he
gathered good auguries This had surprised him; but his surprise was
far greater, when, on entering the room, he found Violet Effingham
there alone. A little fresh colour came to her face as she greeted
him, though it cannot be said that she blushed. She behaved herself
admirably, not endeavouring to conceal some little emotion at thus
meeting him, but betraying none that was injurious to her composure.
"I am so glad to see you, Mr. Finn," she said. "My aunt has just left
me, and will be back directly."

He was by no means her equal in his management of himself on the
occasion; but perhaps it may be acknowledged that his position
was the more difficult of the two. He had not seen her since her
engagement had been proclaimed to the world, and now he had heard
from a source which was not to be doubted, that it had been broken
off. Of course t