cee. Of course, it's utter nonsense."

"A little nonsense now and then is--" began the Princess, and paused
amiably.

"Is Mr. Chase to stay for lunch?" asked Lady Agnes irrelevantly.

"How should I know? I am not his hostess."

"Hoity-toity! I've never known you to look like that before. A little
dash of red sets your cheeks off--" But Genevra threw up her hands in
despair and started toward the stairway, her chin tilted high. Lady
Agnes, laughing softly, followed. "It's too bad she's down to marry that
horrid little Brabetz," she said to herself, with a sudden wistful
glance at the proud, vibrant, loveable creature ahead. "She deserves a
better fate than that."

Genevra waited for her at the head of the stairway.

"Agnes, I'd like you to promise that you will keep your avaricious claws
off Mrs. Browne's husband," she said, seriously.

"I'll try, my dear," said Lady Agnes meekly.

When they reached the garden, they found Deppingham smoking furiously
and quite alone. Chase had left some time before, to give warning to the
English bank that trouble might be expected. The shadow of
disappointment that flitted across Genevra's face was not observed by
the others. Bobby Browne and his wife were off strolling in the lower
end of the park.

"Poor old Deppy," cried his wife. "I've made up my mind to be
exceedingly nice to you for a whole day."

"I suppose I ought to beat you," he said slowly.

"Beat me? Why, pray?"

"I received an anonymous letter this morning, telling me of your
goings-on with Bobby Browne," said he easily. "It was stuck under my
door by Bromley, who said that Miss Pelham gave it to her. Miss Pelham
referred me to Mr. Britt and Mr. Britt urged me to keep the letter for
future reference. I think he said it could be used as Exhibit A. Then he
advised me to beat you only in the presence of witnesses."

"The whole household must be going mad," cried Genevra with a laugh.

"Oh, if something only would happen!" exclaimed her ladyship. "A riot, a
massacre--anything! It all sounds like a farce to you, Genevra, but you
haven't been here for five months, as we have."

As they moved away from the vine-covered nook in the garden, a hand
parted the leaves in the balcony above and a dark, saturnine face
appeared behind it. The two women would have felt extremely
uncomfortable had they known that a supposedly trusted servant had
followed them from the distant corridor, where he had heard every word
of thei