teeth and whom Milly vaguely took for some sort of
great man.

Lady Aldershaw meanwhile looked at Milly quite
as if Milly had been the Bronzino and the Bronzino
only Milly. " Superb, superb. Of course I had
noticed you. It is wonderful," she went on with her
back to the picture, but with some other eagerness
which Milly felt gathering, directing her motions
now. It was enough they were introduced, and
she was saying " I wonder if you could give us the
pleasure of coming " She was not fresh, for
she was not young, even though she denied at every
pore that she was old; but she was vivid and much
bejewelled for the midsummer daylight; and she
was all in the palest pinks and blues. She didn't
think, at this pass, that she could " come " anywhere
Milly didn t; and she already knew that somehow
Lord Mark was saving her from the question. He
had interposed, taking the words out of the lady's
mouth and not caring at all if the lady minded. That
was clearly the right way to treat her at least for
him; as she had only dropped, smiling, and then
turned away with him. She had been dealt with
it would have done an enemy good. The gentleman
still stood, a little helpless, addressing himself to the
intention of urbanity as if it were a large loud
whistle; he had been signing sympathy, in his way,
while the lady made her overture; and Milly had,
in this light, soon arrived at their identity. They
were Lord and Lady Aldershaw, and the wife was

[[245]]

p244 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p245w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p246

v?