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Grahamelookedathiminwonder，andBrottfacedhimsturdily。
“Itseemsliketreasontoyou，Grahame！“hesaid。“Soitdoestomenow。Iwantnothinginthefuturetocomebetweenus，“hecontinuedmoreslowly，“andIshouldlikeifIcantoexpungethememoryofthisinterview。AndsoIamgoingtotellyouthetruth。“
Grahameheldouthishand。
“Don’t！“hesaid。“Icanforgetwithout。“
I3rottshookhishead。
“No，“hesaid。“Youhadbetterunderstandeverything。Thehalfpennypresstoldthetruth。Yetonlyhalfthetruth。Ihavebeentoalltheseplaces，wastedmytime，wastedtheirtime，fromapurelyselfishreason-tobeneartheonlywomanIhaveevercaredfor，thewoman，Grahame！“
“Iknewit，“Grahamemurmured。“Ifoughtagainstthebelief，I
thoughtthatIhadstifledit。ButIknewitallthetime。“
“IfIhaveseemedlukewarmsometimesoflate，“Brottsaid，“thereisthecause。Sheisanaristocrat，andmypoliticsarehatefultoher。Shehastoldmesoseriously，playfully，angrily。Shehasletmefeelitinahundredways。Shehasdrawnmeintodiscussionsandshowntheutmosthorrorofmyviews。Ihavecaredforherallmylife，andsheknowsit。AndIthink，Grahame，thatlatelyshehasbeentryingconstantly，persistently，totonedownmyopinions。Shehasletmeunderstandthattheyareabarbetweenus。Anditisahorribleconfession，Grahame，butIbelievethatIwaswavering。ThisinvitationfromLetheringhamseemedsuchawonderfulopportunityforcompromise。“
“Thismustnevergooutoftheroom，“Grahamesaidhoarsely。“Itwouldruinyourpopularity。Theywouldnevertrustyouagain。
“Ishalltellnooneelse，“Brottsaid。
“Anditisover？“Grahamedemandedeagerly。
“Itisover。“
TheDukeofDorset，whoentertainedforhisparty，gaveagreatdinnerthatnightatDorsetHouse，andtowardsitsclosethePrinceofSaxeLeinitzer，whowasalmosttheonlynon-politicalguest，moveduptohishostinresponsetoaneagersummons。TheDukewasperturbed。
“Youhaveheardthenews，SaxeLeinitzer？“
“Ididnotknowofanynews，“thePrinceanswered。“Whatisit？“
“BrotthasrefusedtojoinwithLetheringhaminformingaministry。
Itisrumouredeventhatacoalitionwasproposed，andthatBrottwouldhavenothingtodowithit。“
ThePrincelookedintohiswineglass。
“Ah！“hesaid。
“Thisisdisturbingnews，“theDukecontinued。Youdonotseemtoappreciateitssignificance。“
ThePrincelookedupagain。
“Perhapsnot，“hesaid。“Youshallexplaintome。“
“Brottrefusestocompromise，“theDukesaid。“Hestandsforaministryofhisownselection。Heavenonlyknowswhatmischiefthismaymean。Hisdoctrinesarethoroughlyrevolutionary。Heisaniconoclastwithageniusfordestruction。Buthehastheearofthepeople。Heisto-daytheirRienzi。“
ThePrincenodded。
“AndLucille？“heremarked。“Whatdoesshesay？“
“Ihavenotspokentoher，“theDukeanswered。“Thenewshasonlyjustcome。“
“Wewillspeaktoher，“thePrincesaid，“together。“
Afterwardsinthelibrarytherewasasortofinformalmeeting，andtheiropportunitycame。
“Soyouhavefailed，Countess，“herhostsaid，knittinghisgreybrowsather。
Shesmilinglyacknowledgeddefeat。
“ButIcanassureyou，“shesaid，“thatIwasverynearsuccess。
OnlyonMondayhehadvirtuallymadeuphismindtoabandontheextremepartyandcastinhislotwithLetheringham。WhathashappenedtochangehimIdonotknow。“
ThePrincecurledhisfairmoustache。
“Itisapity，“hesaid，“thathechangedhis
