’I dare say you would rather be in the House of Commons;—­or, better still, at the Beargarden.’

‘You mean to be ill-natured when you say that, Lady Mab.’

’You ask me to come and walk with you, and then you tell us that we are bores!’

‘I did nothing of the kind.’

’I should have thought that you would be particularly pleased with yourself for coming here today, seeing that you have made Miss Boncassen’s acquaintance.  To be allowed to walk half and hour alone with the acknowledged beauty of the two hemispheres ought to be enough even for Lord Silverbridge.’

‘That is nonsense, Lady Mab.’

’Nothing give so much zest to admiration as novelty.  A republican charmer must be exciting after all the blasees habituees of the London drawing-room.’

‘How can you talk such nonsense, Mabel?’ said Miss Cassewary.

’But it is so.  I feel that people must be sick of seeing me.  I know I am very often sick of seeing them.  Here is something fresh,—­and not only unlike, but so much more lovely.  I quite acknowledge that I may be jealous, but no one can say that I am spiteful.  I wish that some republican Adonis or Apollo would crop up,—­so that we might have our turn.  But I don’t think the republican gentlemen are equal to the republican ladies.  Do you, Lord Silverbridge?

‘I haven’t thought about it.’

‘Mr Sprottle for instance.’

‘I have not the pleasure of knowing Mr Sprottle.’

’Now we’ve been around the haycocks, and really, Lord Silverbridge, I don’t think we have gained much by it.  Those forced marches never do any good.’  And so they parted.

He was thinking with a bitter spirit of the ill-result of the morning’s work when he again found himself close to Miss barbarian in the crowd of departing people on the terrace.  ’Mind you keep your word,’ she said.  And then she turned to her father, ’Lord Silverbridge has promised to call.’

‘Mrs Boncassen will be delighted to make his acquaintance.’

He got into his cab and was driven off before Richmond.  As he went he began to think of the two young women with whom he had passed his morning.  Mabel had certainly behaved badly to him.  Even if she suspected nothing of his object, did she not owe it to their friendship to be more courteous to him than she had been?  And if she suspected that object, should she not at any rate given him that opportunity?

Or could it be that she was really jealous of the American girl?  No;—­that idea he rejected instantly.  It was not compatible with the innate modesty of his disposition.  But no doubt the American girl was very lovely.  Merely as a thing to be looked at she was superior to Mabel.  He did feel that as to mere personal beauty she was in truth superior to anything he had ever seen before.  And she was clever too;—­and good-humoured;—­whereas Mabel had been both ill-natured and unpleasant.