with a monogram and coronet embroidered upon it. She holds it up to him
in explanation; he nods, and she lets herself out. He immediately locks
the door at which she has departed and slips the key into his waistcoat
pocket. This done, he pulls the bell-rope communicating with the maid's
room and takes up a position against the wall so that the opening of the
passage door conceals him from the view of the person entering. After a
pause the door is opened and_ SOPHY _appears. The frills of her
night-dress peep out from under the Mandarin's robe, and she is wearing
a pair of scarlet cloth slippers; altogether she presents an odd,
fantastic figure. She pauses in the doorway hesitatingly, then steadies
herself and, with a defiant air, stalks into the bedroom. Directly she
has moved away,_ QUEX _softly closes the door, locks it, and pockets the
key. Meanwhile_ SOPHY, _looking about the bedroom for the_ DUCHESS,
_discovers the paper upon the bed. She picks it up, reads it and
replaces it, and, coming back into the boudoir, encounters_ QUEX.

SOPHY.

Oh!

QUEX.

[_With a careless nod._] Ah?

SOPHY.

[_Recovering herself, and speaking with a contemptuous smile._] So her
Grace has packed herself off to Mrs. Eden's room. [_Firmly._] Who rang
for me, please?