"What a lovely day it is!" she said, tossing off her hat, and leaning forward, that the wind might blow on her face, which at the moment had all the sweet blooming freshness of a child's. "I wonder if the country is as green and fresh as this, where we are going?"
"Ah, I can answer you. It is far more beautiful. Houghton Castle is among the hills. The park is like a forest, and in the valley you can see a river, winding in and out like gleams of quicksilver. A grand old place is Houghton Castle, let me answer you, Lady Clara."
Clara shook her head, and drew back in her seat.
"I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that the dear old lady could just take the title and the castle with her."
She seemed very much in earnest, and pulled the sailor's hat down over her eyes, to conceal the tears, that were filling them with moisture.
Lord Hilton was surprised. He had certainly intended to interest the young lady by a description of the noble place that would some day be hers.
"Ah, wait till you have seen Houghton. It is one of the finest old strongholds in the kingdom. The only wonder is that Cromwell, that magnificent old hypocrite, happened to spare it. When Lady Carset stands upon her own battlements, she can scarcely see the extent of her lands. A very wealthy lady is the old countess."
Clara all at once began to wonder how it happened that the man was giving her so much knowledge about her own near relative. How did he know that her information did not equal his own?
"You live near Houghton, I suppose?" she said.
"Yes; when the flag is up, we can see it plainly enough from my grandfather's place."