Jones's ball, which was to be
celebrated in two or three days from the present time. Then Mrs.
Houghton was very careful to ask some question in Lord George's
presence as to some special figure-dance which was being got up for the
occasion. It was a dance newly introduced from Moldavia, and was the
most ravishing thing in the way of dancing that had ever yet found its
way into this country. Nobody had yet seen it, and it was being kept a
profound secret,--to be displayed only at Mrs. Montacute Jones's party.
It was practised in secret in her back drawing room by the eight
performers, with the assistance of a couple of most trustworthy hired
musicians, whom that liberal old lady, Mrs. Montacute Jones,
supplied,--so that the rehearsals might make the performers perfect for
the grand night. This was the story as told with great interest by Mrs.
Houghton, who seemed for the occasion almost to have recovered from her
heart complaint. That, however, was necessarily kept in abeyance during
Jack's presence. Jack, though he had been enthusiastic about Mrs. Jones
and her ball before Lord George's arrival, and though he had continued
to talk freely up to a certain point, suddenly became reticent as to
the great Moldavian dance. But Mrs. Houghton would not be reticent. She
declared the four couple who had been selected as performers to be the
happy, fortunate ones of the season. Mrs. Montacute Jones was a nasty
old woman for not having asked her. Of course there was a difficulty,
but there might have been two sets. "And Jack is such a false loon,"
she said to Lord George, "that he won't show me one of the figures."

"Are you going to dance it?" asked Lord George.

"I fancy I'm to be one of the team."

"He is to dance with Mary," said Mrs. Houghton. Then Lord George
thought that he understood the young man's reticence, and he was once
again very wretched. There came that cloud upon his brow which never
sat there without being visible to all who were in the company. No man
told the tale of his own feelings so plainly as he did. And Mrs.
Houghton, though declaring herself to be ignorant of the figure, had
described the dance as a farrago of polkas, waltzes, and galops, so
that the thing might be supposed to be a fast rapturous whirl from the
beginning to the end. And his wife was going through this indecent
exhibition at Mrs. Montacute Jones' ball with Captain de Baron after
all that he had said!

"You are quite wrong in your ide