CHAPTER XVIII.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 353, 23 March 1889, Page 3

CHAPTER XVIII.

ME DENVER, PAYS AN AFTERNOON CALL. ' ' O, what a world of: vile ill-favour'd fuiilts Looks handsome in Ihruc hundred pounds a jcar! Wjien the girl entered the drawing - room she found Mr Denver seated on a low chair, carrying on an animated conversation with her mother, who appeared all smiles and ; good-humour. ' Ah, hsre comes tho invalid !' he exclaimed, jumping up hastily and shaking hands with Dulcie. ' And how might she be? though I need scarcely ask so fluous a question, since, if possible, she is looking- more charming than ever.' It really seemed a hopeless task endeavouring to check the flow of this man's flatteries. He was clearly incorrigible, and doubly so when backed up by the maternal nods of satisfaction. ' Thank you,' she answered, stiffly. 'The poor in\alid is suffering from shortness of temper, and scarcely felb prepared to receive visitors to-day.' It was nob a, particularly civil speech, but she was more or less indifferent as to that. '.Only a visitor, I presume?' returned Mr Denver, pointedly. ' Come, confess the truth. You have nob been spending the afternoon all alone, have you ?' • J do not see how it can affect you, whether I have or not,' she said in reply. 'You must nob pay any attention to this naughty child's sayings,' interposed Mrs Sheppeiton, with nervous suavity. 'She knows nothing of the world, being only accustomed to the society of her sisters and of t young Bob Mornington.' ' Ah '• in that case,' he said, in tones of covert satire that enraged Dulcie to such an extent she felt she could have got up and' shaken the very life out of him, ' there ate a good many excuses to be made.' 'Exactly,' assented Mrs Shepperton, charmed at having &o easily smoothed over the difficulty. ' And now, dear Mr Denver,' artfully leading the conversation back to more pacific channels, ' I want you to go on with the description you were giving me of your life abroad when Dulcie came into the room. How delightful it must be travelling about from place to place, and having no cares, no tics, no domestic wonies, and nothing* to do all day lon«* but amiT-e oneself ! Besides which, young andecood looking Englishmen are always in such great request among foreigners, and meet with so much admiration from the ladies. I presumo you made a whole host of pleasant acquaintances ?' Mrs Shepperton might not be very bright in a greneial way, but either through accident or design she had hit upon a subject eminently congenial to Mr Denver. His face assumed a semi - conscious smirk that spoke volumes, conveying as it did the idea of his successes with the fair sex being in no way exaggerated. 'Yes,' he replied, in tones of lofty but assumed indifference ; * I made lots of acquaintances — so many, indeed, that it is impossible to remember the names of them all. At Rome, for instance, I came across a great numbpr of distinguished people ; in fact, the Ducadi Santa Gloria, la Marchesa Richettina, and the little Contessa Colpetti were amongst my met intimate friends.' 'Indeed!' ejaculated Mrs Shepperron, ecstatically, folding her hands together in a perfect transport of respectful admiration. ' How very delightful ! Quit 3 too charming ! A duca, did you say ?' ' Yes,' assented Mr Denver, looking gratified by the impression he had produced, though Dnlcio gigsrled audibly close to his elbow, 'a duca; but, beside him, (.here were il Principe Villareschi — a dear old fellow, who used to accompany me in my drives and expeditions — and the Honourable Mrs O'Gommery, a fascinating widow, whose sables dung bub lightly ; and Madame de Canchemarin, the great French poetess ; and others of the very highest rank, with whom I was, so to speak, quitehob-nob. Yes,' retrospectively, ' Rome affords me many pleasant recollections.' ' And did these Italian grandees entertain much ?' inquired Mrs Shepperton, with a little kind of catch in her breath, for such intimate association with the aristocracy of Europe impressed her immensely. 'Did they give parties, and all that sorb of thine* ?' ' Most certainly. It is not fair to mention names, but I can remember once dining at the house of a mosb charming leader of fashion, and a delightful dinnerparty it was. We sat down no less than five-and-tvyenty, and I can assure you, Mrs Shepperton, that with the exception of myself and the young lady I took down — who, although not herself a member of the aristoci'acy, was so closely allied to the nobility as almost to rank as one of their number— there was not a single untitled lady or gentleman at that table ;' and Mr Denver looked around with an air of triumph, as much as to say, ' Ihere, what do you think of that ?' ' Dear, dear ! how delightful !' gasped Mrs Shepporton, completely dumbfounded by the magnificence of the entertainment in question. ' And the Queen ? You knew her too, I suppose ?' ' Oh, yes ! La bella Margherita ! La simpatica Regina !' quoting a couple of his stock Italian phrases, which he pronounced execrably. ' I Saw her constantly. Nearly every day of my life, in fact. She is very fond of English pqople.' j 'Oh ! what a proud position for a girl to I marry a man like this, and be able to participate in all these signal advantages !' Such was the thought uppermost in Mrs Shepperton's mind throughout the entire dialogue, coupled with a keen regret that Ethel — her beautiful Ethel, who reflected so much credit upon the family, and who invariably did and said tho right thing at the right time, should not have been present instead of poor little gawky Dulcie, whose conduct was really enough to provoke a saint.

The rarefied atmosphere of the nobility, appealing to her vivid imagination through one evidently associating with lords and princes on terms , of exceeding intimacy, had completely intoxicated the worthy lady. Even it Mr Denver,,had>run away with his neighbour's wife, what was such a youthful escapade compared with a man's friendships among -the aristocracy? The one was an unfortunate incident of daily occurrence ; the other an admirable, elevating, and ennobling" fact, calculated to impress the world at large.