"Yes?" she heard him say, a little absently.
"I shall, no doubt, have it by to-morrow morning," she went on. "Then I shall begin my arrangements. I shall issue invitations to those whom I wish for my guests. And I shall expect you to help me. You promised to help me, as you know. There will be people on the list whom I have not yet met—a good many of them. You shall tell me all about these, or, if you prefer, you shall simply draw your pen through their names—Why don't you ask me how I shall obtain this boasted list?"
"You mean that Mrs. Dares will send it?" she heard him ask.
"No, I mean that I shall secure it from her daughter."
"Her daughter?"
"Yes—Cora. I have been to see Cora. I visited her studio—By the way, what a good portrait she has there of you. It is really an excellent likeness."
She slowly turned and let a furtive look sweep his face. It struck her that he was confused and discomfited in a wholly new way.
"I think it a fair likeness," he returned. "But I did not sit for it," he added quickly. "She painted it from memory. It—it is for sale like her other things."
"Oh, no, it is not for sale," said Pauline. She saw his color alter a little as her gaze again found stealthy means of scrutinizing it. "Miss Cora told me that very decidedly. She wants to keep it—no doubt as a precious memento. I thought the wish very flattering—I—I wondered why you did not ask Cora Dares to marry you."
She perceived that he had grown pale, now, as he rose and said,—