'

'Ah! Bag, my boy!' said the Duke to a slang young nobleman whom he
abhorred, but of whom he sometimes made a butt, 'am I in your way? Here!
take this, and this, and this, and give me your purse. I'll pay Lady
Aphrodite.' And so the Duke again showered some sovereigns, and returned
the shrunken silk to its defrauded owner, who stared, and would have
remonstrated, but the Duke turned his back upon him.

'There now,' he continued to Lady Aphrodite; 'there is two hundred per
cent, profit for you. You are not half a _marchande_. I will stand here
and be your shopman. Well, Annesley,' said he, as that dignitary passed,
'what will you buy? I advise you to get a place. 'Pon my soul, 'tis
pleasant! Try Lady de Courcy. You know you are a favourite.'

'I assure your Grace,' said Mr. Annesley, speaking slowly, 'that that
story about Lady de Courcy is quite untrue and very rude. I never turn
my back on any woman; only my heel. We are on the best possible terms.
She is never to speak to me, and I am always to bow to her. But I really
must purchase. Where did you get that glass-chain, St. James? Lady Afy,
can you accommodate me?'

'Here is one prettier! But are you near-sighted, too, Mr. Annesley?'

'Very. I look upon a long-sighted man as a brute who, not being able to
see with his mind, is obliged to see with his body. The price of this?'

'A sovereign,' said the Duke; 'cheap; but we consider you as a friend.'

'A sovereign! You consider me a young Duke rather. Two shillings, and
that a severe price; a charitable price. Here is half-a-crown; give me
sixpence. I was not a minor. Farewell! I go to the little Pomfret. She
is a sweet flower, and I intend to wear her in my button-hole. Good-bye,
Lady Afy!'

The gay morning had worn away, and St. James never left his fascinating
position. Many a sweet and many a soft thing he uttered. Sometimes he
was baffled, but never beaten, and always returned to the charge with
spirit. He was confident, because he was reckless: the lady had less
trust in herself, because she was anxious. Yet she combated well, and
repressed the feelings which she could hardly conceal.

Many of her colleagues had already departed. She requested the Duke to
look after her carriage. A bold plan suddenly occurred to him, and he
executed it with rare courage and rarer felicity.

'Lady Aphrodite Grafton's carriage!'

'Here, your Grace!'

'Oh! go home. Your lady will return with Madame de Protocoli.'

He r