‘Pray don’t alter any of your accustomed rules for my sake,’ replied the countess, as they emerged into the open together.
The dappled-cream cobs were a picture, with their hogged manes and close-docked tails. They were as perfectly matched in appearance as two horses could possibly be; but their tempers were the very opposite of one another. Beau was a darling, or, rather let us say he would have been, if Belle would have let him alone to do his business by himself. He occupied the shafts, and stood like a rock, with his forefeet well planted and his neck curved, and his eyes looking neither to the right hand nor the left. But Belle, like most of her sex, could not leave a man in peace, and thought it a bad compliment to herself if he kept steady. So she tossed her pretty head and neck incessantly, and threw the foam from her bit, in her impatience to be off. Lady Bowmant, who was nothing if she was not a whip, mounted to her seat and gathered up the ‘ribbons’ in the most artistic manner, whilst Nora placed herself beside her.
‘Let go!’ shouted her ladyship, and off they set, Belle curveting down the drive as if she were dancing, whilst good little Beau threw all his soul into his work, and pulled the dog-cart gallantly along.
‘Come, that won’t do,’ cried Lady Bowmant, as she touched up Belle and made her do her share; ‘you’re not going to leave all the hard work to Beau, miss, not if I know it. Pull up, like a good girl, and leave off fooling. ‘Aren’t they a pair of darlings?’ she continued, addressing Nora. ‘I value them above everything, because they were one of my dear old man’s wedding presents to me; but they are distinctly precious in themselves. Here we are at the commencement of Usk, and now you’ll see some fun, Lady Ilfracombe. See how all the people—boys and girls, men and women—fly before me, tumbling over each other to get out of my way. I might be King Herod coming to massacre the innocents, by the manner they scuttle out of the road. Whoa, my beauty; there, go gently, gently, Belle. For heaven’s sake, don’t kick up any of your shines here, or they’ll call the policemen. Have you heard that I have twice been stopped and once fined for furious driving, Lady Ilfracombe?’
‘No, indeed, I haven’t,’ replied Nora, who was enjoying the fun immensely.
On they flew through the village and out on the open road, the cobs having now settled seriously to their work, and skimming over the ground like a pair of swallows.
When they had driven half the way into Newport, Lady Bowmant turned their heads homewards, and trotted them gently up a long hill. She had them so completely under her control, that it was a pleasure to see her handle the reins and guide them with a flick of her whip.
‘I’d give anything to drive as you do,’ said Lady Ilfracombe, with genuine admiration of the prowess of her companion. ‘I should not be afraid whatever happened whilst you had the reins.’
Lady Bowmant looked pleased, but she answered lightly,—
‘Dear me, it is nothing, only practice. I bet you could manage them quite as well as I do if you tried. They are thoroughly well trained, you see, and that’s half the battle; and they are thoroughbred into the bargain. You can do twice as much with a well-bred horse as you can with an outsider. Their mouths are like velvet. You could guide them with a bit of string; and as for their jumping about a little, that’s only their fun, you know; there’s no vice in it; in fact, there’s not a grain of vice between the two of them. I don’t know what I should do without the darlings. They are the very joy of my life.’