h
gave his wounded pride a pleasant little respite from its aches. He was
grateful, and he said so. Margaret was silent and plied her needle,
planning how she might escape the party if Claudius changed his mind and
went, and how she could with decency leave herself the option of going
if he remained. She did not intend to give people any farther chance of
pairing her off with Claudius or any one else whom they thought she
fancied, and she blamed herself for having given people even the shadow
of an idea that such officious party-making would please her.

Claudius rose to go. The position was not tenable any longer, and it was
his only course. The Countess bade him good morning with more cordiality
than she had displayed as yet; for, in spite of her annoyance, she
would have been sorry to wound his feelings. The change of tone at
first gave Claudius a thrill of pleasure, which gave way to an increased
sense of mortification as he reflected that she was probably only
showing that she was glad to be rid of him--a clumsy, manlike thought,
which his reason would soon get the better of. So he departed.

There was silence for some minutes after he had gone, for Margaret and
the Englishman were old friends, and there was no immediate necessity
for making conversation. At last he spoke with a certain amount of
embarrassment.

"I ought to have told you before that I had asked those two men."

"Who is the other?" she inquired without looking up.

"Why, Barker, his friend."

"Oh, of course! But it would have been simpler to have told me. It made
it rather awkward, for of course Dr. Claudius thought I knew he was
asked and wondered why I did not speak of it. Don't you see?" she raised
her eyes as she put the question.

"It was idiotic of me, and I am very sorry. Please forgive me."

"As he is not going, it does not make any difference, of course, and so
I forgive you."

Considering that Barker had suggested the party, that it was Barker whom
the Duke especially wanted to amuse him on the trip, that Barker had
proposed Margaret and Claudius, and that, finally, the whole affair was
a horrid mess, the Duke did not see what he could have done. But he knew
it was good form to be penitent whenever it seemed to be expected, and
he liked Margaret well enough to hope that she would go. He did not
care very much for the society of women at any time. He was more or less
married when he was at home, which was never for long together,