ascertain that Darrell has no idea of proposing, Honoria would—"
Lady Selina. "Despise him. Ah, I see by your countenance that you think I should prepare her. Is it so, frankly?"
Colonel Morley. "Frankly, then. I think Guy Darrell, like many other men, has been so long making up his mind to marry again that he has lost the right moment, and will never find it."
Lady Selina smells at her vinaigrette, and replies in her softest, affectedest, civilest, and crushingest manner—
"Poor—dear—OLD MAN!"
CHAPTER XIX.
The Colonel, before returning home, dropped into his Clubs, and took care to give to Darrell's sudden disappearance a plausible and commonplace construction. The season was just over, Darrell had gone to the country. The town establishment was broken up, because the house in Carlton Gardens was to be sold. Darrell did not like the situation—found the air relaxing—Park Lane or Grosvenor Square were on higher ground. Besides, the staircase was bad for a house of such pretensions—not suited to large parties. Next season, Darrell might be in a position when he would have to give large parties, etc., etc. As no one is inclined to suppose that a man will retire from public life just when he has a chance of office, so the Clubs took Alban Morley's remarks unsuspiciously, and generally agreed that Darrell showed great tact in absenting himself from town during the transition state of politics that always precedes a crisis, and that it was quite clear that he calculated on playing a great part when the crisis was over, by finding his house had grown too small for him. Thus paving the way to Darrell's easy return to the world, should he repent of his retreat (a chance which Alban by no means dismissed from his reckoning), the Colonel returned home
