a look at her, her lips curling with a very faint,
fine smile of derision. Yet for the first time her black eyes
dilated and became warm.

"Yellow eyes like Ciccio's?" she said, with her great watchful eyes
and her smiling, subtle mouth. "They are the darkest of all." And
she shook her head roguishly.

"Are they!" said Alvina confusedly, feeling a blush burning up her
throat into her face.

"Ha--ha!" laughed Madame. "Ha-ha! I am an old woman, you see. My
heart is old enough to be kind, and my head is old enough to be
clever. My heart is kind to few people--very few--especially in this
England. My young men know that. But perhaps to you it is kind."

"Thank you," said Alvina.

"There! From the head _Thank you_. It is not well done, you see. You
see!"

But Alvina ran away in confusion. She felt Madame was having her on
a string.

Mr. May enjoyed himself hugely playing Kishwegin. When Madame came
downstairs Louis, who was a good satirical mimic, imitated him.
Alvina happened to come into their sitting-room in the midst of
their bursts of laughter. They all stopped and looked at her
cautiously.

"Continuez! Continuez!" said Madame to Louis. And to Alvina: "Sit
down, my dear, and see what a good actor we have in our Louis."

Louis glanced round, laid his head a little on one side and drew in
his chin, with Mr. May's smirk exactly, and wagging his tail
slightly, he commenced to play the false Kishwegin. He sidled and
bridled and ejaculated with raised hands, and in the dumb show the
tall Frenchman made such a ludicrous caricature of Mr. Houghton's
manager that Madame wept again with laughter, whilst Max leaned back
against the wall and giggled continuously like some pot
involuntarily boiling. Geoffrey spread his shut fists across the
table and shouted with laughter, Ciccio threw back his head and
showed all his teeth in a loud laugh of delighted derision. Alvina
laughed also. But she flushed. There was a certain biting,
annihilating quality in Louis' derision of the absentee. And the
others enjoyed it so much. At moments Alvina caught her lip between
her teeth, it was so screamingly funny, and so annihilating. She
laughed in spite of herself. In spite of herself she was shaken into
a convulsion of laughter. Louis was masterful--he mastered her
psyche. She laughed till her head lay helpless on the chair, she
could not move. Helpless, inert she lay, in her orgasm of laughter.
The end of Mr. May. Yet she was hurt.