events resigned in advance to the machinations of
sympathy. The day that followed her lonely excur
sion was to be the last but two or three of their stay
in London; and the evening of that day practically
ranked for them as, in the matter of outside relations,
the last of all. People were by this time quite scat
tered, and many of those who had so liberally mani
fested in calls, in cards, in evident sincerity about
visits, later on, over the land, had positively passed
in music out of sight; whether as members, these
latter, more especially, of Mrs. Lowder's immediate
circle or as members of Lord Mark's our friends
being by this time able to make the distinction. The
general pitch had thus, decidedly, dropped, and the
occasions still to be dealt with were special and few.
One of these, for Milly, announced itself as the doc
tor's call already mentioned, as to which she had now
had a note from him: the single other, of impor
tance, was their appointed leave-taking for the
shortest separation in respect to Mrs. Lowder and
Kate. The aunt and the niece were to dine with
them alone, intimately and easily as easily as
should be consistent with the question of their after
wards going on together to some absurdly belated
party, at which they had had it from Aunt Maud that
they would do well to show. Sir Luke was to make
his appearance on the morrow of this, and in respect
to that complication Milly had already her plan.

The night was, at all events, hot and stale, and it
was late enough by the time the four ladies had been

[[286]]

p285 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p286w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p287

v?