spite of her unwieldy form, and common, showy clothes,
was fond of beautiful things, and especially fond of jewels. She was
wondering whether the pearls worn by the lovely young Englishwoman
standing opposite were real or sham.

The two friends did not stay very long in the Casino on that first
evening. Sylvia drove Anna to the Pension Malfait, and then she came back
alone to the Villa du Lac.

* * * * *

Before drawing together the curtains of her bed-room windows, Sylvia
Bailey stood for some minutes looking out into the warm moonlit night.

On the dark waters of the lake floated miniature argosies, laden with
lovers seeking happiness--ay, and perhaps finding it, too.

The Casino was outlined with fairy lamps; the scene was full of glamour,
and of mysterious beauty. More than ever Sylvia was reminded of an
exquisite piece of scene painting, and it seemed to her as if she were
the heroine of a romantic opera--and the hero, with his ardent eyes and
melancholy, intelligent face, was Count Paul de Virieu.

She wondered uneasily why Anna Wolsky had spoken of the Count as she had
done--was it with dislike or only contempt?

Long after Sylvia was in bed she could hear the tramping made by the feet
of those who were leaving the Casino and hurrying towards the station;
but she did not mind the sound. All was so strange, new, and delightful,
and she fell asleep and dreamt pleasant dreams.

CHAPTER VI

On waking the next morning, Sylvia Bailey forgot completely for a moment
where she was.

She looked round the large, airy room, which was so absolutely unlike the
small bed-room she had occupied in the Hotel de l'Horloge, with a sense
of bewilderment and surprise.

And then suddenly she remembered! Why of course she was at Lacville; and
this delightful, luxurious room had been furnished and arranged for the
lady-in-waiting and friend of the Empress Eugenie. The fact gave an added
touch of romance to the Hotel du Lac.

A ray of bright sunlight streamed in through the curtains she had pinned
together the night before. And her travelling clock told her that it was
not yet six. But Sylvia jumped out of bed, and, drawing back the
curtains, she looked out, and across the lake.

The now solitary expanse of water seemed to possess a new beauty in the
early morning sunlight, and the white Casino, of which the minarets were
reflected in its blue depths, might have been a dream palace. N