idered,
disquieting news for Quisante. Sir Winterton Mildmay, one of the richest
landowners near Henstead, who had been at loggerheads with his party,
had made up the quarrel and consented to stand in opposition to
Quisante. "I thought the sooner your husband knew the better," said
Constantine with a very grave face. "It makes a difference, you see. We
only beat young Fortescue, a stranger in the town, by two hundred, and
they had four hundred the time before." He paused and added, "Lady
Mildmay's very much liked in the town."

"Come, Blair, I'm sure we shan't be worse off in that respect anyhow,"
said Marchmont, laughing.

"Oh, I've nothing to do with you, I've given you up," cried Blair,
twisting his good-humoured face into a fierce scowl. "He's a man with
convictions, Lady May; he's no sort of use to me."

Blair had convictions himself, but he and everybody else took them so
much for granted that they might almost as well not have existed; they
were polite convictions too, ready to give place not only to one another
but even to circumstances, and waiting quite patiently their turn to be
realised. He expected to be met in a like spirit, conceiving that the
true function of a man's own opinions is to decide which party he shall
belong to; with that decision their duty was ended. He possessed an
extremely cordial manner, dressed perfectly, and never forgot anybody.
He enjoyed his work immensely, quarrelling with nothing in it save that
it often prevented him from being present at the first performances of
new plays. May thought him pleasant, but did not welcome his appearance
to-day; he smacked too strongly of those politics distinctively practical
from which her talk with Marchmont had afforded a temporary escape.

"I know Mildmay," said Marchmont. "He's a capital fellow and, I should
think, very popular. He'll give you a bit of a run."

"From what I hear he'll run us very close indeed," said Blair with an
anxious look. "However I've unlimited confidence in your husband, Lady
May. If Mildmay is to be beaten Quisante'll beat him; if there is a weak
spot he'll find it out."

May smiled faintly; what Blair said was so true.

"Perhaps," smiled Marchmont, "you'll be able to ferret out something
about him."

May turned to him and said with a touch of sharpness, "We shall fight
fairly anyhow, I hope." She saw that she surprised him and went on with
a laugh, "You shouldn't talk as if we were going to set detectives on