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BY ORDER OF THE CZAR. 317

" I'm sure she does," said Jenny, " and has loved him all the time, even when she accepted Mr. Philip Forsyth."

"Then why did she accept him?" asked Walter.

" Now, my dear," said Jenny, with the faintest suspicion of irritability, " don't let us go over that again. I a"n quite willing to assume my share of the blame of it, all the blame, if necessary ; but I thought we had concluded our little controversy on that point last night. I'm sure I never slept a wink, what with your reiteration of the salient points, as you called them, and my thinking of them over and over again, afterwards. For heaven's sake let us say no more about responsibilities. Blame me, if you like, entirely."

" My dear," said Walter, taking her hand affectionately, still gazing out across the lagoon, " we are both to blame."

" Very well, then," replied Jenny, " there is an end of it. We have done the right thing at last."

" You really think so ? " said Walter.

" I am sure so," she replied. " Mr. Philip Forsyth thought more of his art than of Dolly, and finally more of that intriguing countess than of either his art or Dolly."

" Has the countess really left Venice? " asked Walter.

" No doubt of it," Jenny replied ; " and Philip has not been seen in this hotel for the last two days."

" You know that his luggage is still here," said Walter.

" Part of it part of it," said Jenny, with some irritation. " It seems he took away his large portmanteau, and I am quite sure the porter has some secret understanding about forwarding the rest after him."

" It is all very strange," said Walter. " If he had said ' good-bye ' left a note sent a telegram done anything that we might have acted upon, our position would have been so much more satisfactory."

" His conduct," said Jenny, " is all the more scandalous. It is evident to me that there was a rivalry between this