"Lord Mowbray was present at my début. As so many other gentlemen did, he sent me flowers, verses, and jewels; and—and that is all."
"She's lying!" thought Lady Vereker in her turn.
And both were correct. Lady Vereker forbore to tell Esther of the hold she had once had upon Lord Mowbray—a hold which she had not yet despaired of regaining, while Esther would not admit to Lady Vereker that she had rashly replied to one of Lord Mowbray's notes and already began to find it difficult to defend herself against his assiduities.
Without being the dupes of each other, but enlightened, the one by the experiences of life, the other by the precocious instinct of combat, the comédienne of the fashionable world and the comédienne of the theatre pressed each other's hands with tender interest and smiled amiably into each other's eyes.
CHAPTER IV.
THE BROOKS CLUB.
Eleven o'clock chimed from the tall clock placed opposite the fireplace. To its faint, silvery tones, which vibrated for some moments upon the atmosphere of the silent chamber, neighboring clocks, repeating the hour, seemed to make echo with their melancholy voices.
"Already eleven o'clock!" exclaimed Esther, starting to her feet. "I must go; I should be at home at this moment!"
"The crowd has not yet dispersed," answered Lady Vereker; "listen to their shouts."