e nor a tenth of their
training, but she's having tons of advertisement. The name Gorla is
almost an advertisement in itself, and then there's the fact that she's
the daughter of a peer."

"She has temperament," said Cicely, with the decision of one who makes a
vague statement in a good cause.

"So Laurent says," observed Tony. "He discovers temperament in every one
that he intends to boom. He told me that I had temperament to the finger-
tips, and I was too polite to contradict him. But I haven't told you the
really important thing about the Mustelford debut. It is a profound
secret, more or less, so you must promise not to breathe a word about it
till half-past four, when it will appear in all the six o'clock
newspapers."

Tony paused for dramatic effect, while he drained his goblet, and then
made his announcement.

"Majesty is going to be present. Informally and unofficially, but still
present in the flesh. A sort of casual dropping in, carefully heralded
by unconfirmed rumour a week ahead."

"Heavens!" exclaimed Cicely, in genuine excitement, "what a bold stroke.
Lady Shalem has worked that, I bet. I suppose it will go down all
right."

"Trust Laurent to see to that," said Tony, "he knows how to fill his
house with the right sort of people, and he's not the one to risk a
fiasco. He knows what he's about. I tell you, it's going to be a big
evening."

"I say!" exclaimed Ronnie suddenly, "give a supper party here for Gorla
on the night, and ask the Shalem woman and all her crowd. It will be
awful fun."

Cicely caught at the suggestion with some enthusiasm. She did not
particularly care for Lady Shalem, but she thought it would be just as
well to care for her as far as outward appearances went.

Grace, Lady Shalem, was a woman who had blossomed into sudden importance
by constituting herself a sort of foster-mother to the fait accompli. At
a moment when London was denuded of most of its aforetime social leaders
she had seen her opportunity, and made the most of it. She had not
contented herself with bowing to the inevitable, she had stretched out
her hand to it, and forced herself to smile graciously at it, and her
polite attentions had been reciprocated. Lady Shalem, without being a
beauty or a wit, or a grand lady in the traditional sense of the word,
was in a fair way to becoming a power in the land; others, more capable
and with stronger claims to social recognition, would doubtless
oversh