“But, Bella!” protested his horrified lordship. “Good God, my dear girl, that will all be a thing of the past! I shall make a famous husband! I swear I shall! I never looked at another female — ”

“Never looked at another female? Sherry, how can you? With my own eyes I saw you at Vauxhall with the most vulgar, hateful — ”

“Not in the way of marriage, I mean!” said the Viscount hastily. “That was nothing — nothing in the world! If you hadn’t driven me to distraction — ”

“Fiddle!” snapped Miss Milborne.

“But I tell you I love you madly — devotedly! My whole life will be blighted if you won’t marry me!”

“It won’t. You will merely go on making stupid bets, and racing, and gaming, and — ”

“Well, you’re out there,” interrupted Sherry. “I shan’t be able to, because if I don’t get married I shall be all to pieces.”

This blunt admission had the effect of making Miss Milborne stiffen quite alarmingly. “Indeed!” she said.

“Am I to understand, my lord, that you have offered for my hand as a means of extricating yourself from your debts?”

“No, no, of course I haven’t! If that had been my only reason I might have offered for a score of girls any time these past three years!” replied his lordship ingenuously. “Fact of the matter is, Bella, I’ve never been able to bring myself up to scratch before, though the lord knows I’ve tried! Never saw any female except you I could think of tying myself up to for life — I’ll take my oath I haven’t! Ask Gil! Ask Ferdy! Ask George! Ask anyone you like! They’ll all tell you it’s true.”

“I don’t desire to ask them. I dare say you would never have thought of offering for me either if your father had not left his fortune in that stupid way!”