“She’s very blind,” said Sir Wilfrid, “and more rheumatic.  But else there’s not much change.  On the whole she wears wonderfully well.”

“Except as to her temper, poor lady!” laughed the Minister.  “She has really tried all our nerves of late.  And the worst of it is that most of it falls upon that poor woman who lives with her”—­the Minister lowered his voice—­“one of the most interesting and agreeable creatures in the world.”

Sir Wilfrid glanced across the table.  Lord Lackington was telling scandalous tales of his youth to a couple of Foreign Office clerks, who sat on either side of him, laughing and spurring him on.  The old man’s careless fluency and fun were evidently contagious; animation reigned around him; he was the spoiled child of the dinner, and knew it.

“I gather that you have taken a friendly interest in Miss Le Breton,” said Bury, turning to his host.

“Oh, the Duchess and Delafield and I have done our best to protect her, and to keep the peace.  I am quite sure Lady Henry has poured out her grievances to you, hasn’t she?”

“Alack, she has!”

“I knew she couldn’t hold her tongue to you, even for a day.  She has really been losing her head over it.  And it is a thousand pities.”

“So you think all the fault’s on Lady Henry’s side?”

The Minister gave a shrug.

“At any rate, I have never myself seen anything to justify Lady Henry’s state of feeling.  On the famous Wednesdays, Mademoiselle Julie always appears to make Lady Henry her first thought.  And in other ways she has really worn herself to death for the old lady.  It makes one rather savage sometimes to see it.”

“So in your eyes she is a perfect companion?”

Montresor laughed.

“Oh, as to perfection—­”

“Lady Henry accuses her of intrigue.  You have seen no traces of it?”

The Minister smiled a little oddly.

“Not as regards Lady Henry.  Oh, Mademoiselle Julie is a very astute lady.”

A ripple from some source of secret amusement spread over the dark-lined face.

“What do you mean by that?”

“She knows how to help her friends better than most people.  I have known three men, at least, made by Mademoiselle Le Breton within the last two or three years.  She has just got a fresh one in tow.”

Sir Wilfrid moved a little closer to his host.  They turned slightly from the table and seemed to talk into their cigars.

“Young Warkworth?” said Bury.

The Minister smiled again and hesitated.

“Oh, she doesn’t bother me, she is much too clever.  But she gets at me in the most amusing, indirect ways.  I know perfectly well when she has been at work.  There are two or three men—­high up, you understand—­who frequent Lady Henry’s evenings, and who are her very good friends....  Oh, I dare say she’ll get what she wants,” he added, with nonchalance.