“I assure you, sir, I never so much as suspected my own powers.”
“True as I am here; the simple fact is, I have come to say so.”
“You have come to say so! What do you mean?”
With this he proceeded to explain that her Excellency had deputed him to invite Lady Lendrick to join the picnic on the island. “It was so completely a home party, that, except himself and a few of the household, none had even heard of it. None but those really intimate will be there,” said he; “and for once in our lives we shall be able to discuss our absent friends with that charming candor that gives conversation its salt. When we had written down all the names, it was her Excellency said, 'I 'd call this perfect if I could add one more to the list.' 'I'll swear I know whom you mean,' said his Excellency; and he took his pencil and wrote a line on a card. 'Am I right?' asked he. She nodded, and said, 'Balfour, go and ask her to come. Be sure you explain what the whole thing is, how it was got up, and that it must not be talked of.' Of course, do what one will, these things do get about. Servants will talk of them, and tradespeople talk of them, and we must expect a fair share of ill-nature and malice from that outer world which was not included in the civility; but it can't be helped. I believe it's one of the conditions of humanity, that to make one man happy you may always calculate on making ten others miserable.”
This time Lady Lendrick had something else to think of besides Mr. Balfour's ethics, and so she only smiled and said nothing.
“I hope I 'm to bring back a favorable answer,” said he, rising to take leave. “Won't you let me say that we 're to call for you?”
“I really am much flattered. I don't know how to express my grateful sense of their Excellencies' recollection of me. It is for Wednesday, you say?”
“Yes, Wednesday. We mean to leave town by two o'clock, and there will be a carriage here for you by that hour. Will that suit you?”
“Perfectly.”
“I am overjoyed at my success. Good-bye till Wednesday, then.” He moved towards the door, and then stopped. “What was it? I surely had something else to say. Oh, to be sure, I remember. Tell me, if you can, what are Sir William's views about retirement: he is not quite pleased with us just now, and we can't well approach him; but we really would wish to meet his wishes, if we could manage to come at them.” All this he said in a sort of careless, easy way, as though it were a matter of little moment, or one calling for very slight exercise of skill to set right.