“You must not laugh at my diamonds. I know that I am too insignificant to wear such jewels. I had two minds about putting them on.”
“Laugh at them, indeed. I should as soon think of laughing at the Bank of England. They are splendid.”
“Yes,” she said, bitterly; “they would be splendid on your Angela. They want a splendid woman to carry them off.”
Oddly enough, he was thinking the same thing: so, having nothing to say, he went on dancing. Presently the waltz came to an end, and Mildred was obliged to hurry off to receive the Portuguese Governor, who had just put in an appearance. Arthur looked at his card, and found that he was down for the next galop with Lady Florence Claverley.
“Our dance again, Lady Florence.”
“Really, Mr. Heigham, this is quite shocking. If everybody did not know that you belonged body and soul to the lovely widow, I should be accused of flirting with you.”
“Who was it made me promise to dance five times?”
“I did. I want to make Mrs. Carr angry.”
“Why should my dancing five or fifty dances with you make Mrs. Carr angry?”
Lady Florence shrugged her pretty shoulders.