And in this
respect the fun was better than at a ball,--that let the engagements
made for partners be what they might, they could always be broken
with ease. No lady felt herself bound to dance with a cavalier who
was displeasing to her; and some gentlemen were left sadly in the
lurch. Phineas felt himself to be very much in the lurch, even after
he had discovered Violet Effingham standing up to dance with Lord
Fawn.
He bided his time patiently, and at last he found his opportunity.
"Would she dance with him?" She declared that she intended to dance
no more, and that she had promised to be ready to return home with
Lord Brentford before ten o'clock. "I have pledged myself not to be
after ten," she said, laughing. Then she put her hand upon his arm,
and they stepped out upon the terrace together. "Have you heard
anything?" she asked him, almost in a whisper.
"Yes," he said. "I have heard what you mean. I have heard it all."
"Is it not dreadful?"
"I fear it is the best thing she can do. She has never been happy
with him."
"But to be accused after that fashion,--by her husband!" said Violet.
"One can hardly believe it in these days. And of all women she is the
last to deserve such accusation."
"The very last," said Phineas, feeling that the subject was one upon
which it was not easy for him to speak.
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