The court it was--being composed of honest gentlemen--that felt the shame which she dissembled.

There were the eyes that fell away before the spurious effrontery of her own glance.

They were disconcerted one and all by this turn of events, without precedent in the experience of any, and none more disconcerted--though not in the same sense--than Sir Terence.

To him this was checkmate--fool's mate indeed.

An unexpected yet ridiculously simple move had utterly routed him at the very outset of the deadly game that he was playing.