"Is it something for you, Lord Arleigh?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied, "for my own unworthy self."
"Then I will do it if possible," she replied.
But when the Duchess of Hazlewood had told her what was needed, and had placed the whole matter before her, Lady Peters looked shocked.
"My dear Philippa," she said, "this is terrible. I could not have believed it. She is a lovely, graceful, pure-minded girl, I know; but such a marriage for an Arleigh! I cannot believe it."
"That is unfortunate," said her grace, dryly, "for he seems very much in earnest."
"No money, no rank, no connections, while he is one of the finest matches in England."
"She is his ideal," was the mocking reply. "It is not for us to point out deficiencies."
"But what will the duke say?" inquired her ladyship, anxiously.
"I do not suppose that he will be very much surprised. Even if he is, he will have had time to recover from his astonishment before he returns. The duke knows that 'beauty leads man at its will.' Few can resist the charm of a pretty face"