Captain Fitzgerald, for his part, was enchanted to clasp his beautiful daughter once more in his arms; he had always loved Theodora, and when he saw her so quite too desirable-looking in her exquisite clothes, he felt a very fine fellow himself, thinking what he had done for her.

It was not an unnatural circumstance that he should look upon the idea of a dinner at the respectable private hotel, with his son-in-law and daughter, as a trifle dull for Paris, or that he should have suggested a meal at the Ritz would do them both good.

“Come and dine with me instead, my dear child,” he said, with his grand air.  “Josiah, you must begin to go out a little and shake off your illness, my dear fellow.”

But Josiah was peevish.

Not to-night—­certainly not to-night.  It was the evening he was to take the two doses of his new medicine, one half an hour after the other, and he could not leave the hotel.  Then he saw how poor Theodora’s face fell, and one of his sparks of consideration for the feelings of others came to him, and he announced gruffly that his wife might go with her father, if she pleased, provided she crept into her room, which was next door to his own, without the least noise on her return.

“I must not be disturbed in my first sleep,” he said; and Theodora thanked him rapturously.

It was so good of him to let her go—­she would, indeed, make not the least noise, and she danced out of the room to get ready in a way Josiah Brown had never seen her do before.  And after she had gone—­Captain Fitzgerald came back to fetch her—­this fact rankled with him and prevented his sleep for more than twenty minutes.

“My sweet child,” said Captain Fitzgerald, when he was seated beside his daughter in her brougham, rolling down the Champs-Elysees, “you must not be so grateful; he won’t let you out again if you are.”

“Oh, papa!” said Theodora.

They arrived at the Ritz just at the right moment.  It was a lovely night, but rather cold, so there were no diners in the garden, and the crowd from the restaurant extended even into the hall.

It was an immense satisfaction to Dominic Fitzgerald to walk through them all with this singularly beautiful young woman, and to remark the effect she produced, and his cup of happiness was full when they came upon a party at the lower end by the door; prominent, as hostess, being Jane Anastasia McBride—­the fabulously rich American widow.

In a second of time he reviewed the situation; a faint coldness in his manner would be the thing to draw—­and it was; for when he had greeted Mrs. McBride without gush, and presented his daughter with the air of just passing on, the widow implored them with great cordiality to leave their solitary meal and join her party.  Nor would she hear of any refusal.

The whole scene was so novel and delightful to Theodora she cared not at all whether her father accepted or no, so long as she might sit quietly and observe the world.