See if
that will have any effect."
"Ah, well! It is natural that you should laugh at me; but somehow, I
did not expect it from you."
"Do not be angry with me. What I mean is that such little things seem
to influence this Violet of yours."
"Do they? I have not found that they do so."
"If she had loved Lord Chiltern she would not have quarrelled with
him for a few words. If she had loved you, she would not have
accepted Lord Chiltern. If she loves neither of you, she should say
so. I am losing my respect for her."
"Do not say that, Madame Goesler. I respect her as strongly as I love
her." Then Madame Goesler almost made up her mind that she would have
the coronet. There was a substance about the coronet that would not
elude her grasp.
Late that afternoon, while she was still hesitating, there came
another caller to the cottage in Park Lane. She was still hesitating,
feeling that she had as yet another night before her. Should she be
Duchess of Omnium or not? All that she wished to be, she could not
be;--but to be Duchess of Omnium was within her reach. Then she began
to ask herself various questions. Would the Queen refuse to accept
her in her new rank? Refuse! How could any Queen refuse to accept
her? She had not done aught amiss in life.
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