et she was
the only woman in the station who refused to follow Lady Harriet's lead.
As Tommy had said, she was a nobody. Her influence was of no account,
but yet with unobtrusive insistence she took her own way, and none could
turn her therefrom.

Mrs. Ermsted held her up to ridicule openly, and yet very strangely she
did not seem to dislike the Adjutant's sharp-tongued little wife. She
had been very good to her on more than one occasion, and the most
appreciative remark that Mrs. Ermsted had ever found to make regarding
her was that the poor thing was so fond of drudging for somebody that it
was a real kindness to let her. Mrs. Ermsted was quite willing to be
kind to any one in that respect.

They approached now, and Lady Harriet gave to each her distinctive smile
of royal condescension.

"I expected to see you dancing, Mrs. Ermsted," she said.

"Oh, it's too hot," declared Mrs. Ermsted. "You want the temperament of
a salamander to dance on a night like this."

She cast a barbed glance towards Stella as she spoke as Monck guided her
to the least crowded corner of the ball-room. Stella's delicate face was
flushed, but it was the exquisite flush of a blush-rose. Her eyes were
of a starry brightness; she had the radiant look of one who has achieved
her heart's desire.

"What a vision of triumph!" commented Mrs. Ermsted. "It's soothing
anyway to know that that wild-rose complexion won't survive the summer.
Captain Monck looks curiously out of his element. No doubt he prefers
the bazaars."

"But Stella Denvers is enchanting to-night," murmured Mrs. Ralston.

Lady Harriet overheard the murmur, and her aquiline nose was instantly
elevated a little higher. "So many people never see beyond the outer
husk," she said.

Mrs. Burton smiled out of her slitty eyes. "I should scarcely imagine
Captain Monck to be one of them," she said. "He is obviously here as a
matter of form to-night. The best man must be civil to the
bride--whatever his feelings."

Lady Harriet's face cleared a little, although her estimate of Mrs.
Burton's opinion was not a very high one. "That may account for Captain
Dacre's extremely complacent attitude," she said. "He regards the
attentions paid to his _fiancee_ as a tribute to himself."

"He may change his point of view when he is married," laughed Mrs.
Ermsted. "It will be interesting to watch developments. We all know what
Captain Dacre is. I have never yet seen him satisfied to take a back
se