You can ask her when you've a
crowd of women. She'll amuse them, and gather glory for herself. But I'm
not going to have her encouraged to think we belong to her. We've set the
woman on her feet by what we've done. Now let her learn to stand alone."
The ladies' luncheon was a direct consequence of this speech; but
complete as was the Countess's success, Annesley felt that she was not
satisfied: that it would take more than a luncheon party of which she was
the heroine to content the Countess, now that Nelson Smith and his bride
had a house and a circle in London.
Occasionally, when she was giving an "At Home," or a dinner, Annesley
consulted Knight. "Shall we ask the Countess?" was her query, and the
first time she did this he answered with another question: "Do you want
her for your own pleasure? Do you like her better than you did?"
Annesley had to say "no" to this catechizing, whereupon Knight briefly
disposed of the subject. "That settles it. We won't have her."
And so, during the next few weeks, the Countess de Santiago (who had
moved from the Savoy Hotel into a charming, furnished flat in Cadogan
Gardens) came to Portman Square only for one luncheon and two or three
receptions.
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