"I think they were pleased," said Falconer.
"His lordship and the rest of the swells ought to be very much obliged," remarked Dick. "You've given éclat to his dance. Observe the French again? There is no extra charge."
"His lordship was extremely kind," said Falconer, "and his thanks more than repaid me for my poor efforts. I don't wonder at his popularity. I've always heard that the higher the rank the simpler the manners; and Lord Angleford is an instance of it. My acquaintance with the nobility is extremely limited——"
"Ditto here," said Dick. "Though the young lady on your arm has lived in marble halls, and hobnobbed with belted earls and lords of high degree. But I'm glad to hear that this one is affable."
Falconer laughed.
"Affable is the wrong word; it means condescension, doesn't it? And Lord Angleford was anything but condescending. He might have known me for years, if one judged by the tone of his voice and manner; and, as I said, I'm more than repaid."
"Well, I'm glad to hear he made a favorable impression on you," Dick said. "I haven't had the pleasure of making his acquaintance yet; but I shall probably see him before I go. But your success doesn't end here, Falconer. I'm told that you are going to play at Cleavemere Court. By George! if you knock them there as you did here—which, of course, you will do—your fortune's made. The duchess has no end of influence, and you'll be paragraphed in the papers, and get engagements at the houses of other swells, and before we know where we are, we shall see 'Señor Falconer's Recitals at St. James' Hall,' advertised on the front page of the Times. And serve you right, old man, for if ever a man deserved good luck, it is you. Eh, Nell?"
"Yes, yes," said Nell.
"And did you see his lordship, our all-puissant earl, my child?"
"Yes," she said, beginning to tremble—but, indeed, she had been trembling all through the conversation. How should she be able to get away from the house—the place which belonged to Drake? "Yes, I saw him. Dick, did a man—a man with a slight figure something like yours—pass you just before we came up?"