ed--wildly
envied--by the three Demoiselles Wermant and the two Misses Sparks,
for the handsome Gerard, after his first waltz with Madame de Villegry,
asked no one to be his partner but Mademoiselle de Nailles.

The girls whom he neglected had not even Fred to fall back upon, for
Fred, the night before, had received orders to join his ship. He had
taken leave of Jacqueline with a pang in his heart which he could
hardly hide, but to which no keen emotion on her part seemed to respond.
However, at least, he was spared the unhappiness of seeing the star of
De Cymier rising above the horizon.

"If he could only see me," thought Jacqueline, waltzing in triumph with
M. de Cymier. "If he could only see me I should be avenged."

But he was not Fred. She was not giving him a thought. It was the
last flash of resentment and hatred that came to her in that moment of
triumph, adding to it a touch of exquisite enjoyment.

Thus she performed the obsequies of her first love!

Not long after this M. de Nailles said to his wife:

"Do you know, my dear, that our little Jacqueline is very much admired?
Her success has been extraordinary. It is not likely she will die an old
maid."

The Baronne assented rather reluctantly.

"Wermant was speaking to me the other day," went on M. de Nailles. "It
seems that that young Count de Cymier, who is always hanging around you,
by the way, has been making inquiries of him, in a manner that looks
as if it had some meaning, as to what is our fortune, our position. But
really, such a match seems too good to be true."

"Why so?" said the Baronne. "I know more about it than you do, from
Blanche de Villegry. She gave me to understand that her cousin was much
struck by Jacqueline at first sight, and ever since she does nothing
but talk to me of M. de Cymier--of his birth, his fortune, his
abilities--the charming young fellow seems gifted with everything.
He could be Secretary of Legation, if he liked to quit Paris: In the
meantime attache to an Embassy looks very well on a card. Attache to the
Ministry of the Foreign Affairs does not seem so good. Jacqueline would
be a countess, possibly an ambassadress. What would you think of that!"

Madame de Nailles, who understood policy much better than her husband,
had suddenly become a convert to opportunism, and had made a change of
base. Not being able to devise a plan by which to suppress her young
rival, she had begun to think that her best way to get r