The Car of Destiny

								

further attempts to put myself in the King's Way, though he arrived at the
Villa Mouriscot every morning from San Sebastian. Dick approved my conduct
and, pitying my depression, perhaps repented his hardness. He found
several Parisian friends at Biarritz, and when we had been there for three
days, he came back to the hotel from the Casino one night with an
important air.
"Strange how one's tempted to do things one knows one oughtn't to do,"
said he. "Now, it's unwise to tell you I've met a man who knows Lady
Monica Vale, yet I'm doing it."
"What did the man say?" I asked.
"A number of things--charming, of course. She's not engaged, if that's any
consolation."
"Oh, I knew that."
"How?"
"By her eyes."
"Apparently she observed yours also."
"What? She's spoken of--she--"
"The sister of my man is a friend of Lady Monica's. She told the sister
about the motor-car adventure."
"For goodness sake don't force me to ask questions."
"I won't. I've a soft heart, which has often been my undoing. She said
she'd seen the most interesting man in the world. Don't faint."
"Don't be an ass."
"I'm not chaffing. She did say that--honest Injun. At least, I've Henri de
la Mole's word for it. His sister was at school at the convent of the
Virgin of Tears with Lady Monica Vale. Lady Monica supposed the other day
that we were both French, which is a compliment to your accent. She said
she wished she could find out 'who was the brown man with the eyes.' I'm a
fool to have told you that though, eh? It can't do you any good, and will
probably make you worse."
"But it has done me good."
"Flattered your vanity. However, I haven't told you all yet. De la Mole
says the mother's a dragon, hard as iron, cold as steel, living for
ambition. She was left poor, on her husband's death, as the Vale-Avon
estates went with the title to a distant relative, and the girl's been
brought up to make a brilliant match. She's been given every
accomplishment under Heaven, to add to her beauty; and as the family's one
of the oldest in Great Britain, connected with royalty in one way or
another, in Stuart days, Lady's Monica's expected to pull off something
from the top branch, in the way of a marriage. De la Mole's heard that the
present Lord Vale-Avon has been first favourite with the mother up till
lately, though he's next door to an idiot. Princess Ena's engagement to
the King of Spain has changed everything. You see, Lady Vale-Avon and her
daughter live not far from the Princess, in the Isle of Wight. When the
King came a-courting to England, came also, though not exactly in his
train, another Spaniard, the Duke of Carmona, and--"
"Don't," I cut in; "I won't hear his name in connection with her's. That
half Moorish brute!"
"He may have a dash of Moorish blood, but he's not half Moorish; and if
he's a brute, he's a good-looking brute, according to de la Mole, also
he's one of the richest young men in Spain. Lady Vale-Avon--"