This had been given after the acquittal of
Phineas Finn, though fixed before that great era. "Nothing on earth
should have made me have it while he was in prison," the Duchess
had said. But Phineas was acquitted, and cakes and ale again became
permissible. The ball had been given, and had been very grand.
Phineas had been asked, but of course had not gone. Madame Goesler,
who was a great heroine since her successful return from Prague, had
shown herself there for a few minutes. Lady Chiltern had gone, and of
course taken Adelaide. "We are first cousins," the Duke said to Miss
Palliser,--for the Duke did steal a moment from his work in which to
walk through his wife's drawing-room. Adelaide smiled and nodded, and
looked pleased as she gave her hand to her great relative. "I hope we
shall see more of each other than we have done," said the Duke. "We
have all been sadly divided, haven't we?" Then he said a word to his
wife, expressing his opinion that Adelaide Palliser was a nice girl,
and asking her to be civil to so near a relative.
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