"Horser," he said, "may not be brilliant, but he had a great
organisation at his back. Souspennier was without friends or
influence. The contest should scarcely have been so one-sided. To
tell you the truth, my dear Muriel, I am more surprised that you
yourself should have found the task beyond you."
Lady Carey's face darkened.
"It was too soon after the loss of Lucille," she said, "and besides,
there was his vanity to be reckoned with. It was like a challenge
to him, and he had taken up the glove before I returned to New York."
The Duchess looked up from her work.
"Have you had any conversation with my husband, Prince?" she asked.
The Prince of Saxe Leinitzer twirled his heavy moustache and sank
into a chair between the two women.
"I have had a long talk with him," he announced. "And the result?"
the Duchess asked.
"The result I fear you would scarcely consider satisfactory," the
Prince declared. "The moment that I hinted at the existence of
--er--conditions of which you, Duchess, are aware, he showed alarm,
and I had all that I could do to reassure him. I find it everywhere
amongst your aristocracy--this stubborn confidence in the existence
of the reigning order of things, this absolute detestation of
anything approaching intrigue."
"My dear man, I hope you don't include me," Lady Carey exclaimed.
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