"Not only sane, but sober," replied Lady Dering, quite unimpressed by the martial note in Sir William's voice. "I wouldn't miss it for worlds! The amazing Ermyntrude has dug up a Russian prince!"

"Good God!" ejaculated Sir William. "You're not going to tell me, I trust, that you accepted that invitation for the sake of meeting some wretched foreign prince?"

His wife considered this, a humorous gleam in her pleasant grey eyes. "Well, not quite entirely. I mean, not for the Prince alone. But a Russian prince in that setting! You couldn't expect me to miss anything as rich as that!"

This response, so far from mollifying Sir William, made hire look even more shocked than before. "My dear lluth, aren't you letting your sense of humour carry you too far? Dash it, you can't accept people's hospitality just to make fun of them!"

"Dear old silly!" said Lady Dering affectionately, "I wasn't going to."

"You said-'

"No, darling, far from it. I never make fun of anyone except you. I am just going to be gloriously entertained."

"Well, I don't like it at all. I haven't anything against Mrs. Carter, beyond the fact of her being a damned common woman, made up to the eyes, and reeking of scent, but that fellow, Carter, I bar. We've always kept them at arm's-length, and now Heaven knows what you've let us in for!"

"An occasional invitation to them to dine."

"But why?" demanded Sir William. "Don't tell me it's because of a Russian prince! I never heard such nonsense!"

"Dear William, I like you so much when you're stupid! The amazing Ermyntrude is going to build the hospital for us."

"Mat?"

"Not with her own fair hands, dearest. She's going to give us a really big cheque, though. I don't call a few dinner-parties much of a price to pay."

"I call it disgusting!" said Sir William strongly.