catch her eye; but in vain, and he
suffered agonies of doubt whether she had been perverted by greatness.

It was some comfort that, when presently a rush of waiters floated by,
she was not with her cousin; but to provoke him still more, as the
daisies neared him, he beheld for a moment in the whirl the queer
smile, half-frightened, half-exultant, which he had seen on Nuttie's
face when swinging sky-high!

When the pause came and people walked about, the black lady stood
talking so near him that he ventured at last on a step forward and an
eager 'Miss Egremont,' but, as she turned, he found himself obliged to
say, 'I beg your pardon.'

'Did you mean my cousin. We often get mistaken for each other,' said
May civilly.

He brightened. 'I beg your pardon,' he said, 'I knew her at
Micklethwayte. I am here--quite by accident. Mrs. Elmore was so good
as to bring me.'

May was rather entertained. 'There's my cousin,' she said, 'Lord
Philip Molyneux is asking her to dance,' and she left him most
unnecessarily infuriated with Lord Philip Molyneux.

A steward introduced him to a dull-looking girl, but fortune favoured
him, for this time he did catch the real Nuttie's eye, and all herself,
as soon as the dance was over, she came up with outstretched hands, 'Oh
Gerard! to think of your being here! Come to mother!'

And, beautiful and radiant, Mrs. Egremont was greeting him, and there
were ten minutes of delicious exchange of news. But 'pleasures are as
poppies fled,' Nuttie had no dance to spare, her card was full, and she
had not learnt fashionable effrontery enough to play tricks with
engagements, and just then Mr. Egremont descended on them--'I wish to
introduce you to the Duchess,' he said to his wife; and on the way he
demanded--'Who is that young cub?'

'Gerard Godfrey--an old neighbour.'

'I thought I had seen him racketing about there with Ursula. I'll not
have those umbrella fellows coming about!'

'Does he really make umbrellas, Nuttie?' asked Blanche, catching her
hand.

'No such thing!' said Nuttie hotly, 'he is in the office. His father
was a surgeon; his sisters married clergymen!'

'And he came here to meet you,' said Annaple Ruthven. 'Poor fellow,
what a shame it is! Can't you give him one turn!

'Oh dear! I'm engaged all through! To Mark this time.'

'Give him one of the extras! Throw Mark over to me! No,' as she
looked at the faces of the two girls, 'I suppose that wouldn't do, but