"I heard it was you," said Ireland, distrustfully.
"It was my sister," said Mrs. Ward, coldly. "We thought Mr. Vane would marry her, but he certainly showed no signs of proposing. I suppose he was too fond of his dead wife," and she shot a sneering look at Lord Derrington, who winced.
"Don't say a word against Rosina Lockwood," said Ireland, quickly.
"You see what he calls her," said Mrs. Ward to Derrington. "There was no marriage."
"Ma'am!" cried Ireland, rising.
"Oh, never mind," replied Mrs. Ward, waving her hand. "There is no need for you to lose your temper, my good man. I am not going to speak of the woman----"
"She was an angel."
"And a woman--that's the generic name for the sex. However, it was my sister Jenny who loved Percy Vane. She would go to the ball, and persuaded me to go with her. We slipped out of the hotel and went without a chaperon. Our father would have been shocked had he known, but it was merely the escapade of two schoolgirls. I went with a friend, and Jenny looked about for Mr. Vane. We agreed to meet after an hour and go home. As there were other blue dominoes at the ball we each wore--" and Mrs. Ward repeated the word to emphasize the fact--"each a sprig of yellow holly. I went to a box to have supper with a certain cousin of mine and my sister then departed with Mr. Vane."
"Why did she leave the ballroom?" asked Derrington.
"Because Mr. Vane was shocked. He recognized her voice and made her unmask. He insisted on taking her home first, and then intended to return for me, as he could not find me at the moment. They went out together, Mr. Ireland, and that is the last I saw of Mr. Vane."