u will find it soon, Lady Marion."

"Find what?" she asked.

"'The heart that has never yet answered a word,'" he replied, quoting
the words of her song. "People do often meet their fate without knowing
it."

When he saw the fair face grow crimson he knew at once that she thought
she was speaking of himself and her. After that there seemed to be a
kind of understanding between them. When others were speaking he would
quote the words: "Somewhere or other," and then Lady Marion would blush
until her face burned. So a kind of secret understanding grew between
them without either of them quite understanding how it was.

Lady Lanswell was quite happy; the bait was taking; there was no need
for her to interfere, all was going well.

"Mother," said Lord Chandos, "I cannot understand it; you invite all the
old dowagers and spinsters in Rome to your afternoon teas and _soirees_,
but you never invite any young ladies, and there are some very pretty
ones."

"My dear Lance, I know it, and deeply regret it; but you see I have no
one to entertain young ladies."

He raised his head with an injured air.

"You have me," he replied.

The countess laughed.

"True, I have you, but I mean some one free and eligible."

"Am I not free and eligible?" he asked, quickly; and then his brave
young face grew fiery red under his mother's slow, sneering smile. "I do
not mean that; of course I am not free or eligible in that sense of the
word, yet I think I am quite as well able to entertain young and pretty
girls as old dowagers."

Lady Lanswell looked keenly at him.

"My dear Lance, I will do anything to please you," she said, "but if you
persist in considering yourself an engaged man, you must forego the
society of charming girls. I have no desire for another visit from that
tempestuous young person."

Lance, Lord Chandos, shuddered at the words--"a tempestuous young
person"--this was the heroine of his romance, his beautiful Leone, whose
voice always came to him with the whisper of the wind, and the sweet
ripple of falling water. "A tempestuous young person," his beautiful
Leone, whose passionate kisses were still warm on his lips, whose bitter
tears seemed wet on his face--Leone, who was a queen by right divine. He
turned angrily away, and Lady Lanswell, seeing that she had gone far
enough, affected not to see his anger, but spoke next in a laughing tone
of voice.

"You see, Lance, in my eyes you are very eligible, indeed, and