Wingate found Josephine on his other side and was happy.  Phipps was just across the table.  His hostess proceeded to give the latter some of her attention.

“Mr. Phipps,” she said, “they tell me you’ve taken that scoundrel of a nephew of mine—­Dredlinton—­into your business, whatever it is.  He won’t do you any good, you know.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” Phipps replied.  “He seemed to me rather a brainy person for his order.”

“One for me,” Lady Amesbury chuckled.  “I don’t care.  If I chose to come on the Stock Exchange, I’ve got brains enough to ruin most of you.  But I don’t choose.  I like to hear of the rest of you tearing yourselves to pieces, though.  If you could keep Dredlinton out of mischief for a year, Mr. Phipps, I’d think you were the most wonderful man I ever met.  He’s a bad lot, but I tolerate him because I love his wife.”

Phipps scowled across the table to where Wingate’s head was nearly touching Josephine’s.

“Lady Dredlinton seems to be achieving great popularity in every direction,” he said sourly.

“And a jolly good thing, too,” Lady Amesbury declared.  “If ever a woman earned the right to kick the traces away for a bit, Josephine has.  Don’t you mind anything I say, my dear,” she added, as Josephine looked up at the sound of her name.  “You settle down to a nice comfortable flirtation, if you want to.  You owe it to yourself, all right, and then there’s some coming to you.  And I’m your husband’s aunt who tells you that.”

“I’m not at all sure,” Phipps observed, “that you don’t underrate your nephew’s ability.”

“The only thing I know about his ability,” was the blunt reply, “is his ability to borrow a few hundreds from any one fool enough to lend it to him, and then invent excuses for not paying it back.  He’s good at that, if you like.  Still, don’t let me set you against him, Mr. Phipps.  Every shilling he gets out of you and your company is so much saved to the family.”

Lady Amesbury, who, notwithstanding her apparent inconsequence, had a keen eye for her guests, directed her conversation for a time into another channel, and finally changed places with Sarah in order to come into closer touch with a spiritualist from Sweden, who was on the lookout for a medium.  Sarah turned appealingly toward Wingate.

“Jimmy and I want to be taken to the theatre to-morrow night,” she announced.  “He doesn’t get any money till Wednesday, and I haven’t earned enough this week to pay my garage bill.”

“I’ll take you both,” Wingate promised quickly, “if Lady Dredlinton will make a fourth.”

“Delightful,” Josephine assented.

“I have a box at the Opera,” Phipps announced, leaning forward.  “Give me the pleasure of entertaining you all.”

Josephine shook her head.

“Tannhauser!  I am sorry, Mr. Phipps, but I couldn’t possibly stand it.  Ask us another time, won’t you?  To-morrow night,” she went on, turning to Wingate, “let us be absolutely frivolous.  A revue, I think.”