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LadyCareysuddenlydroppedherpartner’sarm。Shehadseenamanstandingbyhimselfwithfoldedarmsandmoodyfaceattheentrancetotheball-room。Sheraisedherlorgnettes。Hisidentitywasunquestionable。
“Willyouexcusemeforamoment，CaptainHorton，“shesaidtoherescort。“IwantparticularlytospeaktoMr。Brott。“
CaptainHortonbowedwiththeslightdisappointmentofahungrymanonhiswaytothesupper-room。
“Don’tbelong，“hebegged。“Theplacesarefillingup。
LadyCareynoddedandwalkedswiftlyacrosstowhereBrottwasstanding。Hemovedeagerlyforwardtomeether。
“Notdancing，Mr。Brott？“
Heshruggedhisshoulders。
“Thissortofthingisn’tmuchinmyway，“heanswered。“IwasratherhopingtoseetheCountesshere。Itrustthatsheisnotindisposed。“
Shelookedathimsteadily。
“Doyoumean，“shesaid，“thatyoudonotknowwheresheis？“
“I？“heansweredinamazement。“HowshouldI？Ihavenotseenheratallthisevening。Iunderstoodthatshewastobehere。“
LadyCareyhesitated。Themanwastoohonesttobeabletolielikethis，eveninagoodcause。Shestoodquitestillforamomentthinking。Severalofherdearestfriendshadalreadytoldherthatshewaslookingtiredandillthisevening。Atthatmomentshewaspositivelyhaggard。
“IhavebeendownatRanelaghthisafternoon，“shesaidslowly，“anddiningout，soIhavenotseenLucille。Shewascomplainingofaheadacheyesterday，butIquitethoughtthatshewascominghere。HaveyouseentheDuchess？“
Heshookhishead。
“No。Thereissuchacrowd。“
LadyCareyglancedtowardsherescortandturnedaway。
“Iwilltryandfindoutwhathasbecomeofher，“shesaid。“Don’tgoawayyet。“
Sherejoinedherescort。
“Whenwehavefoundatable，“shesaid，“IwantyoutokeepmyplaceforafewmomentswhileItryandfindsomeofmyparty。“
Theypassedintothesupper-room，andappropriatedasmalltable。
LadyCareyleftherpartner，andmadeherwaytothefartherendoftheapartment，wherethePrinceofSaxeLeinitzerwassuppingwithhalfadozenmenandwomen。Shetouchedhimontheshoulder。
“Iwanttospeaktoyouforamoment，Ferdinand，“shewhispered。
Heroseatonce，andshedrewhim-alittleapart。
“Brottishere，“shesaidslowly。
“Brotthere！“herepeated。“AndLucille？“
“Heisaskingforher-expectedtofindherhere。Heisdownstairsnow，lookingthepictureofmisery。“
Helookedatherinquiringly。Therewasacurioussteelylightinhereyes，andshewasshowingherfrontteeth，whichwerealittleprominent。
“Doyouthink，“heasked，“thatshehasdeceivedus？“
“Whatelse？WherearetheDorsets？“
“TheDuchessiswiththeEarlofCondon，andsomemorepeopleattheroundtableunderthebalcony。“
“Givemeyourarm，“shewhispered。“Wemustgoandaskher；“
Theycrossedtheroomtogether。LadyCareysankintoavacantchairbythesideoftheDuchessandtalkedforafewminutestothepeoplewhomsheknew。ThensheturnedandwhisperedintheDuchess’sear。
“WhereisLucille？“
TheDuchesslookedatherwithameaningsmile。
“HowshouldIknow？Sheleftwhenwedid。“
“Alone？“
“Yes。Itwasallunderstood，wasn’tit？“
LadyCareylaughedunpleasantly。
“Shehasfoole
