Lucillehadrecoveredherself。Shestoodbeforehim，whitebutcalm。
“Because，“shesaid，“Iamawoman。“
“Thatmeansthatyoucamewithoutreason-onimpulse？“heasked。
“Icame，“shesaid，“becauseIheardthatyouwereabouttotakeastepwhichmustseparateusforever。“
“Andthat，“heasked，“disturbedyou？“
“Yes！“
“Come，wearedrawingnearertogether，“hesaid，akindlinglightinhiseyes。“Nowanswermethis。Howmuchdoyoucareifthiseternalseparationdoescome？HereamIonthethresholdofaction。
UnlessIchangemymindwithintenminutesImustthrowinmylotwiththosewhomyouandyourOrderloatheanddespise。Therecanbenohalfmeasures。Imustbetheirleader，orImustvanishfromthefaceofthepoliticalworld。ThisIwilldoifyoubidme。Butthepricemustbeyourself-wholly，withoutreservation-yourself，bodyandsoul。“
“Youcare-asmuchasthat？“shemurmured。
“Askmenoquestions，answermine！“hecriedfiercely。“Youshallstaywithmehere-orinfiveminutesIleaveonmycampaign。“
Shelaughedmusically。
“Thisispositivelydelicious，“sheexclaimed。“Iambeingmadelovetoinmedievalfashion。Othertimesothermanners，sir！Willyoulistentoreason？“
“Iwilllistentonothing-saveyouranswer，yesorno，“hedeclared，drawingonhisovercoat。
Shelaidherhanduponhisshoulder。
“Reginald，“shesaid，“youarelikethewhirlwind-andhowcanI
answeryouinfiveminutes！“
“Youcananswermeinone，“hedeclaredfiercely。“WillyoupaymypriceifIdoyourbidding？Yesorno！Thepriceisyourself。Now！
Yesorno？“
Shedrewonherowncloakandfastenedtheclaspwithshakingfingers。Thensheturnedtowardsthedoor。
“Iwishyougood-byeandgoodfortune，Reginald，“shesaid。“I
daresaywemaynotmeetagain。Itwillbebetterthatwedonot。“
“Thisthenisyouranswer？“hecried。
Shelookedaroundathim。Wasithisfancy，orwerethosetearsinhereyes？Orwasshereallysowonderfulanactress？“
“Doyouthink，“shesaid，“thatifIhadnotcaredIshouldhavecomehere？“
“Tellmethatinplainwords，“hecried。“ItisallIask。“
Thedoorwassuddenlyopened。Grahamestooduponthethreshold。
HelookedbeyondLucilletoBrott。
“Youmustreallyforgiveme，“hesaid，“butthereisbarelytimetocatchthetrain，Brott。Ihaveahansomwaiting，andyourluggageison。“
Brottanswerednothing。Lucilleheldoutherhandstohim。
“Yesorno？“heaskedherinalowhoarsetone。
“Youmust-givemetime！Idon’twanttoloseyou。I-“
Hecaughtuphiscoat。
“Coming，Grahame，“hesaidfirmly。“Countess，Imustbegyourpardontenthousandtimesforthisabruptdeparture。Myservantswillcallyourcarriage。“
Sheleanedtowardshim，beautiful，anxious，alluring。
“Reginald！“
“Yesorno，“hewhisperedinherear。
“Givemeuntilto-morrow，“shefaltered。
“Notonemoment，“heanswered。“Yes-now，thisinstant-orIgo！“
“Brott！Mydearman，wehavenotasecondtolose。“
“Youhear！“hemuttered。“Yesorno？“
Shetrembled。
“Givemeuntilto-morrow，“shebegged。“Itisforyourownsake。
Foryourownsafety。“
Heturnedonhisheel！Hismutteredspeechwasprofane，butinarticulate。HesprangintothehansombyGrahame’sside。
“Euston！“thelattercriedthroughthetrap-door。“Doublefare，cabby。WemustcatchtheScotchman。“
Lucillecameoutafewmomentslater，andlookedupanddownthestreetasherbroughamdrovesmartlyup。Thehansomwasfastdisappearinginthedistance。Shelookedafteritandsighed。
Lucillegavealittlestartofamazementassherealisedthatshewasnotaloneinthebrougham。Shereachedoutforthecheck-cord，butastronghandheldhers。
“MydearLucille，“afamiliarvoiceexclaimed，“whythisalarm？Isityournervesoryoureyesightwhichisfailingyou？“
Herhanddropped。Sheturnedtowardshim。
“Itisyou，then，Prince！“shesaid。“Butwhyareyouhere？Idonotunderstand。“
ThePrinceshruggedhisshoulders。
“Itissosimple，“hesaid。“WeareallveryanxiousindeedtoheartheresultofyourinterviewwithBrott-andapartfromthat，Ipersonallyhavetoofewopportunitiestoactasyourescorttoletachancegoby。Itrustthatmypresenceisnotdispleasingtoyou？“
Shelaughedalittleuneasily。
“Itisatanyrateunnecessary，“sheanswered。“ButsinceyouarehereImayaswellmakemyconfession。Ihavefailed。“
“Itisincredible，“thePrincemurmured。
“Asyouwill-butitistrue，“sheanswered。“Ihavedonemyverybest，orrathermyworst，andtheresulthasbeenfailure。Mr。
Brotthasagreatfriend-amannamedGrahame，whoseinfluenceprevailedagainstmine。HehasgonetoScotland。“
“Thatisseriousnews，“thePrincesaidquietly。
Lucilleleanedbackamongstthecushions。
“Afterall，“shedeclared，“wearealloutofplaceinthiscountry。
Thereisnoscopewhateverforsuchschemesandintriguesasyouandalltherestofthemdelightin。InFranceandRussia，eveninAustria，itisdifferent。Theworkingofallgreatorganisationthereisunderground-itiseasyenoughtomeetplotbycounterplot，tosuborn，todeceive，toundermine。Buthereallthegreatgamesoflifeseemtobeplayedwiththecardsuponthetable。Wearehopelesslyoutofplace。Icannotthink，Prince，whatillchanceledyoutoevercontemplatemakingyourheadquartersinLondon。“
ThePrincestrokedhislongmoustache。
“Thatisallverywell，Lucille，“hesaid，“butyoumustrememberthatinEnglandwehaveverylargesubscriptionstotheOrder。
Thesepeoplewillnotgoonpayingfornothing。TherewasameetingoftheLondonbranchafewmonthsago，anditwasdecidedthatunlesssomepracticalworkwasdoneinthiscountryallEnglishsubscriptionsshouldcease。Wehadnoalternativebuttocomeoverandattemptsomething。Brottisofcoursethebetenoireofourfriendshere。Heisdistinctlythemantobestruckat。“
“Andwhatevilstrokeoffortune，“Lucilleasked，“inducedyoutosendforme？“
“Thatisaverycruelspeech，dearlady，“thePrincemurmured。
“Ihope，“Lucillesaid，“thatyouhaveneverforamomentimaginedthatIfindanypleasureinwhatIamcalledupontodo。“
“Whynot？Itmustbeinteresting。YoucanhavehadnosympathywithBrott-ahopelessplebeian，averyparagonofAnglo-Saxonstupidity？“
Lucillelaughedscornfully。
“ReginaldBrottisaman，atanyrate，andanhonestone，“sheanswered。“ButIamtooselfishtothinkmuchofhim。ItismyselfwhomIpity。Ihaveahome，Prince，andahusband。I
wantthemboth。“
“Youamazeme，“thePrincesaidslowly。“Lucille，indeed，youamazeme。Youhavebeenburiedaliveforthreeyears。PositivelywebelievedthatoursummonswouldsoundtoyoulikeamessagefromHeaven。“
Lucillewassilentforamoment。Sherubbedthemistfromthecarriagewindowandlookedoutintothestreets。
“Well，“shesaid，“Ihopethatyourealisenowhowcompletelyyouhavemisunderstoodme。IwasperfectlyhappyinAmerica。Ihavebeenperfectlymiserablehere。IsupposethatIhavegrowntoooldforintriguesandadventures。“
“Tooold，Lucille，“thePrincemurmured，leaningalittletowardsher。“Lucille，youarethemostbeautifulwomaninLondon。Manyothersmayhavetoldyouso，butthereisnoone，Lucille，whoissodevotedly，sohopelesslyyourslaveasI。“
Shedrewherhandaway，andsatbackinhercorner。Theman’shotbreathfelluponhercheek，hiseyesseemedalmostphosphorescentinthedarkness。Lucillecouldscarcelykeepthebitingwordsfromhertongue。
“Youdonotanswerme，Lucille。Youdonotspeakevenasinglekindwordtome。Come！Surelyweareoldfriends。Weshouldunderstandoneanother。ItisnotagreatdealthatIaskfromyourkindness-notagreatdealtoyou，butitisallthedifferencebetweenhappinessandmiseryforme。“
“Thisisaveryworn-outgame，Prince，“Lucillesaidcoldly。“Youhavebeenmakinglovetowomeninverymuchthesamemannerfortwentyyears，andI-well，tobefrank，Iamutterlywearyofbeingmadelovetolikeadoll。Laughatmeasyouwill，myhusbandistheonlymanwhointerestsmeintheslightest。Myfailureto-dayisalmostwelcometome。Ithasatleastbroughtmyworkheretoaclose。Come，Prince，ifyouwanttoearnmyeternalgratitude，tellmenowthatIamafreewoman。“
“Yougivemecredit，“thePrincesaidslowly，“forgreatgenerosity。
IfIletyougoitseemstomethatIshallloseyoualtogether。
Youwillgotoyourhusband。Hewilltakeyouaway！“
“Whynot？“Lucilleasked。“Iwanttogo。IamtiredofLondon。
Youcannotlosewhatyouneverpossessed-whatyouneverhadtheslightestchanceofpossessing。
ThePrincelaughedsoftly-notapleasantlaugh，notevenamirthfulone。
“Dearlady，“hesaid，“youspeaknotwisely。ForIamverymuchinearnestwhenIsaythatIloveyou，anduntilyouarekindertomeIshallnotletyougo。“
“Thatisratheradangerousthreat，isitnot？“Lucilleasked。
“Youdaretotellmeopenlythatyouwillabuseyourposition，thatyouwillkeepmeboundaservanttothecause，becauseofthisfoolishfancyofyours？“
ThePrincesmiledatherthroughthegloom-awhite，setsmile。
“Itisnofoolishfancy，Lucille。Youwillfindthatoutbeforelong。Youhavebeencoldtomeallyourlife。Yetyouwouldfindmeabetterfriendthanenemy。“
“IfIamtochoose，“shesaidsteadily，“Ishallchoosethelatter。“
“Asyouwill，“heanswered。“Intimeyouwillchangeyourmind。“
Thecarriagehadstopped。ThePrincealightedandheldouthishand。Lucillehalfrose，andthenwithherfootuponthestepshepausedandlookedaround。
“Wherearewe？“sheexclaimed。“ThisisnotDorsetHouse。“
“No，weareinGrosvenorSquare，“thePrinceanswered。“Iforgottotellyouthatwehaveameetingarrangedforherethisevening。
Permitme。“ButLucilleresumedherseatinthecarriage。
“Itisyourhouse，isitnot？“sheasked。
“Yes。Myhouseassuredly。“
“Verywell，“Lucillesaid。“IwillcomeinwhentheDuchessofDorsetshowsherselfatthewindoworthefrontdoor-orFelix，orevenDeBrouillae。“
ThePrincestillheldopenthecarriagedoor。
“Theywillallbehere，“heassuredher。“Weareafewminutesearly。“
“ThenIwilldriveroundtoDorsetHouseandfetchtheDuchess。
Itisonlyafewyards。“
ThePrincehesitated。Hischeekswereverywhite，andsomethinglikeascowlwasblackeninghisheavy，insipidface。
“Lucille，“hesaid，“youareveryfoolish。ItisnotmuchIaskofyou，butthatlittleIwillhaveorIpledgemywordtoitthatthingsshallgoillwithyouandyourhusband。Thereisplainspeechforyou。Donotbeabsurd。Comewithin，andletustalk。
Whatdoyoufear？Thehouseisfullofservants，andthecarriagecanwaitforyouhere。“
Lucillesmiledathim-amaddeningsmile。
“Iamnotachild，“shesaid，“andsuchconversationsasIamforcedtoholdwithyouwillnotbeunderyourownroof。BesogoodastotellthecoachmantodrivetoDorsetHouse。“
ThePrinceturnedonhisheelwithafuriousoath。
“HecandriveyoutoHell，“heansweredthickly。
LucillefoundtheDuchessandLadyCareytogetheratDorsetHouse。
Shelookedfromonetotheother。
“Ithoughtthattherewasameetingto-night，“sheremarked。
