Alice Blackley, and Fairfax. Isabel Perry made a simple and rather majestic figure in black velvet, which had seen several seasons, with her hair quite carelessly done. Simplicity was decidedly her note now, a perfectly genuine one, and there was a certain air of the great lady about her. As she had said to Teresa, she made no effort for her guests. They seemed to have been asked because they could amuse themselves.
Isabel's husband, as usual, was not present, and Teresa found herself at table between Fairfax and a tall, blonde, very handsome youth of the smartest aspect. She saw that Basil sat at his hostess' left hand, and that Isabel talked impartially to him and to the dull Mr. Kerr on her right. Isabel's Spanish eyes looked sad, and seemed to explore remote horizons. Basil also looked remote, and Teresa noted that he drank steadily each wine in succession, even champagne, which he did not like.
There were more men than women in the party, and Teresa soon found that she had an audience of four and that she was talking with animation. She would not let Fairfax absorb her attention, and his frankly amorous manner interested her less than the ingenuous remarks of the blonde youth, who openly admired her also and told her why. He had evidently been drinking a little too much, but his exuberance amused her.
"I can't stand sly-looking women," he con-
