d succeeded in marrying her daughter to the greatest fool in the
peerage. She had striven very hard to bring about a marriage between
her nephew and the great heiress, and was a woman not likely to
pardon those who had foiled her.

At this moment Burgo felt very certain that his aunt was aware of his
purpose, and could not forgive her for pretending to be innocent of
it. In this he was most ungrateful, as well as unreasonable,--and
very indiscreet also. Had he been a man who ever reflected he must
have known that such a woman as his aunt could only assist him as
long as she might be presumed to be ignorant of his intention. But
Burgo never reflected. The Fitzgeralds never reflected till they were
nearer forty than thirty, and then people began to think worse of
them than they had thought before.

When Burgo reached the dining-room there were many men there, but no
ladies. Sir Cosmo Monk, a fine bald-headed hale man of about sixty,
was standing up at the sideboard, cutting a huge game pie. He was a
man also who did not reflect much, but who contrived to keep straight
in his course through the world without much reflection. "Palliser
is coming without her," he said in his loud clear voice, thinking
nothing of his wife's nephew. "She's ill, she says."

"I'm sorry for it," said one man. "She's a deal the better fellow of
the two."

"She has twice more go in her than Planty Pall," said another.

"Planty is no fool, I can tell you," said Sir Cosmo, coming to the
table with his plate full of pie. "We think he's about the most
rising man we have." Sir Cosmo was the member for his county, and
was a Liberal. He had once, when a much younger man, been at the
Treasury, and had since always spoken of the Whig Government as
though he himself were in some sort a part of it.

"Burgo, do you hear that Palliser is coming without his wife?"
said one man,--a very young man, who hardly knew what had been the
circumstances of the case. The others, when they saw Burgo enter, had
been silent on the subject of Lady Glencora.

"I have heard,--and be d----d to him," said Burgo. Then there was
suddenly a silence in the room, and everyone seemed to attend
assiduously to his breakfast. It was very terrible, this clear
expression of a guilty meaning with reference to the wife of another
man! Burgo regarded neither his plate nor his cup, but thrusting
his hands into his breeches pockets, sat back in his chair with the
blackness as of a thunde