She seldom exerted their full force, however, without some
further motive than mere desire to captivate. There are women who
fly their falcons at any game, little birds and all; but Sepia
did not so waste herself: her quarry must be worth her hunt: she
must either love him or need him. _Love!_ did I say? Alas! if
ever holy word was put to unholy use, _love_ is that word!
When Diana goes to hell, her name changes to Hecate, but love
among the devils is called love still!
In more than one other country, whatever might be the cause,
Sepia had found _the men_ less shy of her than here; and she
had almost begun to think her style was not generally pleasing to
English eyes. Whether this had anything to do with the fact that
now in London she began to amuse herself with Tom Helmer, I can
not say with certainty; but almost if not quite the first time
they met, that morning, namely, when first he called, and they
sat in the bay-window of the drawing-room in Glammis Square, she
brought her eyes to play upon him; and, although he addressed
"The Firefly" poem to Hesper in the hope of pleasing her, it was
for the sake of Sepia chiefly that he desired the door of her
house to be an open one to him. Whether at that time she knew he
was a married man, it is hardly necessary to inquire, seeing it
would have made no difference whatever to one like her, whose
design was only to amuse herself with the youth, and possibly to
make of him a screen.
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