"Yes; but I wish she had gone," said the countess, in a low voice.
Drake smiled grimly.
"So do I. But she hasn't."
"She is too serene and contented," murmured the countess.
Drake shrugged his shoulders again.
"I know," he said significantly. "But what does it matter? She can do no harm. Nell knows everything."
"I like the way you say that," said the countess. "But don't leave her."
He nodded as if he understood, and gradually made his way toward the group among which Luce and Nell were sitting. As he approached, Lady Luce looked up with a smile.
"I have been telling Miss Lorton that if there is one thing I adore upon earth, it is a romantic engagement, and that I quite envy her, and you, too, Lord Angleford! A glamour of romance will surround you for the rest of your lives. As I have often said to Archie, life without sentiment would not be worth having. By the way, Miss Lorton, you know Sir Archie Walbrooke?"
Nell had scarcely been listening, for she had been wondering whether she could now rise and leave Lady Luce; but at the name of Sir Archie Walbrooke, she turned with a sudden start, and the color rose to her face. Lady Luce looked at her sweetly; then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, exclaimed, in a low voice: