she will marry, Mr. Clavering; I told Edouard so
yesterday. He merely smiled. It would hardly do for him, she has so much
will. Edouard has a will also."

"All men have, I suppose."

"Ah, yes; but there is a difference. A sum of money down, if a man is to
marry, is better than a widow's dower. If she dies, you know, he looks
so foolish. And she is grand and will want to spend everything. Is she
much older than you, Mr. Clavering? Of course I know Julie's age, though
perhaps you do not. What will you give me to tell?" And the woman leered
at him with a smile which made Harry think that she was almost more than
mortal. He found himself quite unable to cope with her in conversation,
and soon after this got up to take his leave. "You will come again," she
said. "Do. I like you so much. And when Julie is in town, we shall be
able to see her together, and I will be your friend. Believe me."

Harry was very far from believing her, and did not in the least require
her friendship. Her friendship, indeed! How could any decent English man
or woman wish for the friendship of such a creature as that? It was thus
that he thought of her as he walked away from Mount Street, making heavy
accusations, within his own breast, against Lady Ongar as he did so.
Julia! He repeated the name over to himself a dozen times, thinking that
the flavor of it was lost since it had been contaminated so often by
that vile tongue. But what concern was it of his? Let her be Julia to
whom she would, she could never be Julia again to him. But she was his
friend--Lady Ongar, and he told himself plainly that his friend had been
wrong in having permitted herself to hold any intimacy with such a woman
as that. No doubt Lady Ongar had been subjected to very trying troubles
in the last months of her husband's life, but no circumstances could
justify her, if she continued to endorse the false cordiality of that
horribly vulgar and evil-minded little woman. As regarded the grave
charges brought against Lady Ongar, Harry still gave no credit to them,
still looked upon them as calumnies, in spite of the damning advocacy of
Sophie and her brother; but he felt that she must have dabbled in very
dirty water to have returned to England with such claimants on her
friendship as these. He had not much admired the count, but the count's
sister had been odious to him. "I will be your friend. Believe me."
Harry Clavering stamped upon the pavement as he thought of the little
P