it astonishing that men created Venice and that men
have now put steam launches in the canals of Venice!"

Venice! Charmian seized upon the word, mentally leaped upon and clung to
the city in the sea. From that moment their conversation became easier,
and gradually Charmian began to recover from her strange social
prostration. So she thought of it. She forced the note, no doubt.
Afterward she was unpleasantly conscious of that. But at any rate the
talk flowed. There was some give and take. The joints of their
intercourse did not creak as if despairingly appealing to be oiled. Of
course it was very banal to talk about Italy. But, still, these moments
must come sometimes to all those who go much into the world. And what is
Italy, beautiful, siren-like Italy, for if not to be talked about?
Charmian said that to herself afterward, and was amazed at her own
vulgarity of mind. Ah, yes! That was what she had disliked in Claude
Heath--his faculty of making her feel almost vulgar-minded,
vulgar-intellected! She coined horrible bastard words in her efforts to
condemn him. But all that was later on, when she had even said
good-night to her only mother.

Their tete-a-tete was broken by Mrs. Shiffney's departure to a reception
at the Ritz. She must surely have been disappointed in the musician;
but, if so, she was too clever to show it. And she was by way of being a
good-natured woman and seldom seemed to think ill of anybody. "I have so
many sins on my own conscience," she sometimes said, "that I decline to
see other people's. I want them to be blind to mine. Sin and let sin is
an excellent rule in social life." She seldom condemned anyone except a
bore.

"If you ever pay a call, which I doubt," she said to Claude Heath as she
was going, "I'm in Grosvenor Square. The Red Book will tell you."

She looked at him with her almost insolently self-possessed and careless
eyes, and added:

"Perhaps some day you'll come on the yacht and show me the course to set
for Wonderland. Mr. Elliot says you know it. And of course we all want
to. I've been everywhere except there."

"I doubt if a yacht could take us there," said Heath, smiling as if to
cover something grave or sad.

A piercing look again came into Mrs. Shiffney's eyes.

"I really hope I shall see you in Grosvenor Square," she said.

Without giving him time to say anything more she went away, accompanied
from the room by Max Elliot, walking carelessly and looking very
powerf