"Not hopeless; and degenerate in that respect alone—if you must insist on the term."
"I do insist."
"What if he should succeed in overcoming it?"
"He cannot. Even should he seem to, there will always be a weakness to be feared."
"Is that just?"
"It is just to Genevieve."
"Everything for Vievie, coronet included!" called Dolores over her shoulder.
Mrs. Gantry's English complexion deepened to the purple of mortification. The frank smile that told of his lordship's enjoyment of her discomfiture was the last straw. She rose in her stateliest manner.
"I shall leave you a few moments to be entertained by the dear child, since you find her so amusing," she said. "Genevieve must not be permitted to remain too long in the close hot air of the palm room."
"There's some hot air outside the conservatory, mamma," remarked
Dolores.