Trafford took her down to the stables on the morning after her arrival, and Esmeralda went from stall to stall, loose box to loose box, and was introduced to each horse in turn; and was so fearless and full of admiration and delight that she won the heart of the head groom, who waxed eloquent about her when she and Trafford had gone off to see the House Farm.
“That’s the first lady as ever I saw that understood the points of a horse,” he said to a circle of attentive listeners. “There’s a good many of ’em as comes round and stands at a safe distance, and says ‘Pretty dear!’ and ‘What a nice horse, Mr. Carter!’ but she’s the first as really knows anything about ’em. The marquis ’ull have a good wife, mark my words! And she can ride, too, I bet! I’ll have that bay mare ready for her to-morrow, James—and when Miss Chetwynde’s in the saddle, they’ll be as pretty a pair as there is in the county.”
Esmeralda was as delighted with the farm as she had been with the stables. The exquisite cleanliness and order in which the whole place was kept amazed her.
“It’s like one of those toy farms one sees in the children’s toy-shops,” he said. “How proud the farmer’s wife must be of it all! Does it pay very well?”
Trafford smiled as he thought of the sum which the House Farm cost to keep up.
“Not very well,” he said. “But we look upon it as a kind of model and example to the farmers on the estate.”
“What would be the use of their following it, if they lost money by it?” she said; and Trafford, amused by her shrewdness, laughed.
After they had inspected all the animals, and gone over the spotless dairy, with its white tiles, and newest appliances in the way of churns and milk coolers, they walked through the park, and Trafford succeeded in finding some deer. Her frankly expressed pleasure and delight in all she saw afforded him a singular pleasure; it was as if he were playing cicerone to a child or a school-girl. She was quite unembarrassed, and free from any shyness at being alone with him, and did not seem to want or expect him to make love to her in the very least, but talked to him as if he were an old friend or a fellow school-girl.
Trafford felt the charm of this, and found himself enjoying his walk as he had not enjoyed one for as far back as he could remember.