Another opportunity came that evening.

It was Lady Peters' birthday, and Philippa had invited some of her most intimate friends; not young people, but those with whom she thought her _chaperon_ would enjoy herself best.

The result was a very pleasant dinner-party, followed by a very pleasant evening.

Lord Arleigh could not be absent, for it was, in some measure, a family _fete_.
The guests did not remain very late, and Lady Peters, professing herself tired with the exertions she had made, lay down on a couch, and was soon asleep.

Philippa stood by the window with the rose-silk hangings drawn.
"Come out on the balcony," she said to Lord Arleigh, "the room is very warm." It was night, but the darkness was silver-gray, not black.