"I cannot tell," he reported to his chief, "whether we have succeeded or
not. In a fortnight or less we shall know."




CHAPTER IV

THE DUCHESS ASKS A QUESTION


Clara stepped through the high French window, and with skirts a little
raised crossed the lawn. Lindsay, who was following her, stopped to
light a cigarette.

"We're getting frightfully modern," she remarked, turning and waiting for
him. "Mrs. Handsell and I ought to have come out here, and you and uncle
ought to have stayed and yawned at one another over the dinner-table."

"You have an excellent preceptress--in modernity," he remarked. "May I?"

"If you mean smoke, of course you may," she answered. "But you may not
say or think horrid things about my best friend. She's a dear, wonderful
woman, and I'm sure uncle has not been like the same man since she came."

"I'm glad you appreciate that," he answered. "Do you honestly think he's
any the better for it?"

"I think he's immensely improved," she answered. "He doesn't grub about
by himself nearly so much, and he's had his hair cut. I'm sure he looks