"Did I hear my name?"
"Ay. What was it George said of Belmanoir at White's the night Gilly made that absurd bet with Ffolliott?"
"When Gilly—oh, yes, I remember. 'Twas but an old hexameter tag, playing on his name: 'Est bellum bellis bellum bellare puellis.' He seemed to think it a fitting motto for a ducal house."
There was another general laugh at this. Markham broke in on it:
"Who is she, Tracy?"
His Grace turned.
"Who is who?" he asked languidly.
Lord Avon burst out laughing.
"Oh, come now, Belmanoir, that won't do! It really will not! Who is she, indeed!"
"Ay, Belmanoir, who is the black-haired beauty, and where did you find her?" cried Tom Wilding, pressing forward with a glass in one hand and a bottle of port in the other. "I thought you were captivated by Cynthia Evans?"