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off so easily.
    “There seems to be some misunderstanding,” Daphne said to St. Felix when she returned to the Blue Saloon. “My aunt finds Sir Lawrence owes her no money."
    Richard regarded her closely, and considered this statement carefully. “Owes her no money—what did that imply?
    “They were just friends, you see,” Daphne went on, feeling uncomfortable in a totally silent room with those probing eyes staring through her. “In common with the rest of my aunt’s ex-friends, he has not been to see her for many years.” He continued to listen and think and stare, and she became increasingly angry at his silence.
    “It is really quite shocking the way everyone has deserted my aunt. When I came here, she hadn’t had a single caller in a month. People only used her, took advantage of her generosity when she lived on Half Moon Street; and now that she is getting on and is poor, no one comes near her.”
    Richard thought he had her meaning now. Mrs. Pealing wished to re-enter Society. “Where do you come into it?” he asked.
    “I? I don’t come into it at all. I am her niece. I happen to be visiting her, that’s all.”
    “Are you to make your debut this Season?”
    “No, my aunt is in no position to sponsor me. It is only a family visit, and a quite dull one it has been, too.”
    “She would wish to show you a livelier time, I assume?”
    “I’m sure she would, if it were possible. She used to be very sociable, some years ago.”
    “I shouldn’t think it would be at all possible, the way you are going about it. You are more likely to alienate your aunt’s former friends than endear yourself to them by blackmail.”
    “Blackmail?” she said, not entirely surprised at the charge but angry nevertheless. “We have not threatened nor intimidated anyone, nor done anything illegal. My aunt has merely announced that she is going to publish a few memoirs from her youth.”
    “It is tantamount to blackmail to threaten to publish licentious stories and accept payment for not publishing them.”
    “Yes, certainly it is, but we are not doing anything of the kind. If people who sponged off my aunt when she was rich have been goaded into repaying their lawful debts to her only because they are so mean-minded they think she intends to expose them in her book, well, it is no more than is her due!”
    “It won’t work,” he said and arose from his chair, to tower over her.
    “Will it not? We’ll see about that, Your Grace. It has already worked. She has had over twenty-four hundred pounds repaid already, every cent of it coming to her honestly.”
    “Yes, with interest, I hear. You’ll find money alone opens no doors. She may bleed people white, but she won’t be invited back into Society. There is some behaviour that puts one beyond the pale of decent society. Divorce and blackmail, for example.”
    “She isn’t bleeding anyone! They owe her the money, and why should they not pay interest? They have been getting five percent in the funds. Why should my aunt’s investments pay no interest?”
    “Why settle for five percent? The usurers charge fifty. There is a good business tip for you, Miss. Put your ill-got gains out to loan at exorbitant interest rates and you’ll achieve your end sooner. You’ll be rich enough for anything, except common decency."
    “Thank you for the advice, Your Grace. I shall be sure to tell where it came from, if I decide to take your advice. Is that how you manage to present so affluent an appearance?”
    “Oh, no, I am a gentleman. I merely suggested a notion that I thought might appeal to you. I wish you luck, Ma’am, and look forward to reading an interesting chapter on the amorous exploits of Sir Lawrence, for you’ll find no interest has accrued to you in that quarter.”
    “There will be no amorous exploits regarding Sir Lawrence. My aunt said he tried to make love to her, but she took an aversion to his open mouth. She could not like the dull-witted appearance it