“I think he is spiteful.  He says such horrid things.”

“Does he?  What about?” said the Duke indifferently, as he tore a bit of charred paper from the end of his cigarette, which had burned badly.  She did not answer at first.  He inspected the cigarette, puffed it into active life again, and looked up.

“What about, Vick?”

“About his friend—­about Doctor Claudius.  I like Doctor Claudius.”  Lady Victoria smoothed her rebellious brown hair at the huge over-gilt pier-glass of the little drawing-room which she and Margaret had in common.

“I like him too,” said the Duke.  “He is a gentleman.  Why don’t you do your hair like the American women—­all fuzzy, over your eyes?  I should think it would be much less trouble.”

“It’s not neat,” said her ladyship, still looking into the glass.  Then suddenly, “Do you know what I think?”

“Well?”

“I believe Mr. Barker would like to marry Margaret himself.”

“Pshaw!  Victoria, don’t talk nonsense.  Who ever heard of such a thing!  The Duke rose and walked once up and down the room; then he sat down again in the same place.  He was not pleased at the suggestion.

“Why is it such nonsense?” she asked.

“Any number of reasons.  Besides, she would not have him.”

“That would not prevent him from wishing to marry her.”

“No, of course not, but—­well, it’s great stuff.”  He looked a little puzzled, as if he found it hard to say exactly why he objected to the idea.

“You would be very glad if Claudius married her, would you not?” asked his sister.

“Glad—­I don’t know—­yes, I suppose so.”

“But you pretend to like Mr. Barker a great deal more than you like Doctor Claudius,” said she argumentatively.

“I know him better,” said the Duke; “I have known Barker several years.”

“And he is rich—­and that, and why should he not think of proposing to Margaret?”

“Because—­well I don’t know, but it would be so deuced inappropriate,” in which expression the honest-hearted Englishman struck the truth, going for it with his head down, after the manner of his people.

“At first he was very nice,” said Lady Victoria, who had gained a point, though for what purpose she hardly knew; “but after a while he began to say disagreeable things.  He hinted in all sorts of ways that Claudius was not exactly a gentleman, and that no one knew where he came from, and that he ought not to make love to Margaret, and so on, till I wanted to box his ears;” and she waxed warm in her wrath, which was really due in great part to the fact that Mr. Barker was personally not exactly to her taste.  If she had liked him she would have thought differently of the things he said.  But her brother was angry too by this time, for he remembered a conversation he had had with Barker on the same topic.