Lady Winsleigh in the meantime stared at her with cold, critical eyes.
"She is positively rather handsome," she thought. "I can quite imagine a certain class of men losing their heads about her." Aloud she said-"I must apologize for this intrusion, Miss Vere! I dare say you have never heard my name--I am not fortunate enough to be famous,--as you are." This with a killing satire in her smile. "May I sit down? Thanks! I have called upon you in the hope that you may perhaps be able to give me a little information in a private matter--a matter concerning the happiness of a very dear friend of mine." She paused--Violet Vere sat silent. After a minute or two, her ladyship continued in a somewhat embarrassed manner-"I believe you know a gentleman with whom I am also acquainted--Sir Philip Bruce-Errington."
Miss Vere raised her eyes with charming languor and a slow smile.
"Oh yes!"
"He visits you, doesn't he?"
"Frequently!".
"I'm afraid you'll think me rude and inquisitive," continued Lady Winsleigh, with a coaxing air, "but--but may I ask--"
"Anything in the world," interrupted Violet coolly. "Ask away! But I'm not bound to answer."
Lady Winsleigh reddened with indignation. "What an insulting creature!" she thought. But, after all, she had put herself in her present position, and she could not very well complain if she met with a rebuff. She made another effort.
"Sir Francis Lennox told me--" she began.
The Vere interrupted her with a cheerful laugh.
"Oh, you come from him, do you? Now, why didn't you tell me that at first? It's all right! You're a great friend of Lennie's, aren't you?"
Lady Winsleigh sat erect and haughty, a deadly chill of disgust and fear at her heart. This creature called her quondam lover, "Lennie"--even as she herself had done,--and she, the proud, vain woman of society and fashion shuddered at the idea that there should be even this similarity between herself and the "thing" called Violet Vere. She replied stiffly-"I have known him a long time."
"He's a nice fellow," went on Miss Vere easily--"a leetle stingy sometimes, but never mind that! You want to know about Sir Philip Errington, and I'll tell you. He's chosen to mix himself up with some affairs of mine--"
"What affairs?" asked Lady Winsleigh rather eagerly.
"They don't concern you," returned Miss Vere calmly, "and we needn't talk about them! But they concern Sir Philip,--or he thinks they do, and insists on seeing me about them, and holding long conversations, which bore me excessively!"