“It is all the dear Baroness and the dear Baron now, you perceive,”
remarked Elinor to Mrs. Pullen, as they walked together to the
railway-station, “you and the baby are at a discount. Miss Brandt is
the sort of young lady, I fancy, who will follow her own interests
wherever they may lead her!”

“You should be the last to complain of her for that, Elinor, since you
have tried to get rid of her at any cost,” replied her friend. Captain Ralph Pullen arrived punctually by the train which he had
appointed, and greeted his sister-in-law and _fiancée_ with marked
cordiality. He was certainly a man to be proud of, as far as outward appearance
went. He was acknowledged, by general consent, to be one of the
handsomest men in the British Army, and he was fully aware of the
fact. He was tall and well built, with good features, almost golden
hair; womanish blue eyes, and a long drooping moustache, which he was
always caressing with his left hand. He regarded all women with the
same languishing, tired-to-death glance, as if the attentions shewn
him by the _beau sexe_ had been altogether too much for him, and the
most he could do now was to regard them with an indolent, worn-out
favour, which had had all the excitement, and freshness, and flavour
taken out of it long before. Most women would have considered his
method of treatment as savouring little short of insult, but Elinor
Leyton’s nature did not make extravagant demands upon her lover, and
so long as he dressed and looked well and paid her the courtesies due
from a gentleman to a gentlewoman, she was quite satisfied. Margaret,
on the other hand, had seen through her brother-in-law’s affectations
from the first, and despised him for them. She thought him foolish,
vain, and uncompanionable, but she bore with him for Arthur’s sake. She
would have welcomed his cousin Anthony Pennell, though, with twice the
fervour. Ralph was looking remarkably well. His light grey suit of tweed was
fresh and youthful looking, and the yellow rose in his buttonhole was
as dainty as if he had just walked out of his Piccadilly club. He was
quite animated (for him) at the idea of spending a short time in Heyst,
and actually went the length of informing Elinor that she looked “very
fit”, and that if it was not so public a place he should kiss her. Miss
Leyton coloured faintly at the remark, but she turned her head away and
would not let him see that she was sorry the place was so public. “Heyst seems to have done you both a lot of good,” Captain Pullen went
on presently, “I am sure you are fatter, Margaret, than when you were
in Town. And, by the way, how is the daughter?”

“Not very well, I am sorry to say, Ralph! She is cutting more teeth. Elinor and I were consulting whether we should send for a doctor to see
her, only this afternoon.”

“By the way, I have good news for you, or you will consider it so. Old
Phillips is coming over to join us next week.”

“Doctor Phillips, my dear old godfather!” exclaimed Margaret, “O! I
_am_ glad to hear it! He will set baby to rights at once. But who told
you so, Ralph?”

“The old gentleman himself! I met him coming out of his club the other
day and told him I was coming over here, and he said he should follow
suit as soon as ever he could get away, and I was to tell you to get a
room for him by next Monday!”

“I shall feel quite happy about my baby now,” said Mrs. Pullen, “I
have not much faith in Belgian doctors. Their pharmacopœia is quite
different from ours, but Doctor Phillips will see if there is anything
wrong with her at once!”

“I hope you will not be disappointed with the Hotel visitors, Ralph,”
said Elinor, “but they are a terrible set of riff-raff. It is
impossible to make friends with any one of them. They are such dreadful
people!”

“O! you mustn’t class them all together, Elinor,” interposed Margaret,
“I am sure the Montagues and the Vieuxtemps are nice enough! And _du
reste_, there is no occasion for Ralph even to speak to them.”

“Of course not,” said Captain Pullen, “I have come over for the sake
of your company and Margaret’s, and have no intention of making the
acquaintance of any strangers. When is the _Bataille de Fleurs_? Next
week? that’s jolly! Old Phillips will be here by that time, and he and
Margaret can flirt together, whilst you and I are billing and cooing,
eh, Elinor?”

“Don’t be vulgar, Ralph,” she answered, “you know how I dislike that
sort of thing! And we have had so much of it here!”

“What, billing and cooing?” he questioned. But Elinor disdained to make
any further remark on the subject. The appearance of Ralph Pullen at the _table d’hôte_ dinner naturally
excited a good deal of speculation. The English knew that Mrs. Pullen
expected her brother-in-law to stay with her, but the foreigners
were all curious to ascertain who the handsome, well-groomed,
military-looking stranger might be, who was so familiar with Mrs.
Pullen and her friend. The Baroness was not behind the rest in
curiosity and admiration. She was much before them in her determination
to gratify her curiosity and make the acquaintance of the new-comer,
whose name she guessed, though no introduction had passed between them. She waited through two courses to see if Margaret Pullen would take
the initiative, but finding that she addressed all her conversation to
Captain Pullen, keeping her face, meanwhile, pertinaciously turned from
the party sitting opposite to her, she determined to force her hand. “Mrs. Pullen!” she cried, in her coarse voice, “when are you going to
introduce me to your handsome friend?”

Margaret coloured uneasily and murmured,

“My brother-in-law, Captain Pullen--Madame Gobelli.”

“Very glad to see you, Captain,” said the Baroness, as Ralph bowed to
her in his most approved fashion, “your sister thought she’d keep you
all to ’erself, I suppose! But the young ladies of Heyst would soon
make mincemeat of Mrs. Pullen if she tried that little game on them. We
’aven’t got too many good-looking young men ’ereabouts, I can tell you. Are you going to stay long?”

Captain Pullen murmured something about “uncertain” and “not being
quite sure”, whilst the Baroness regarded him full in the face with a
broad smile on her own. She always had a keen eye for a handsome young
man! “Ah! you’ll stay as long as it suits your purpose, won’t you? I expect
you ’ave your own little game to play, same as most of us! And it’s a
pretty little game, too, isn’t it, especially when a fellow’s young
and good-looking and ’as the chink-a-chink, eh?”

“I fancy I know some of your brother officers, Mr. Naggett, and Lord
Menzies, they belong to the Rangers, don’t they?” continued Madame
Gobelli, “Prince Adalbert of Waxsquiemer used to bring ’em to the
Red ’Ouse! By the way I ’aven’t introduced you to my ’usband, Baron
Gobelli! Gustave, this is Captain Ralph Pullen, the Colonel’s brother,
you know. You must ’ave a talk with ’im after dinner! You two would
’it it off first-rate together!