“Except to his horse,” Clementina was on the point of saying, but thought again she would first secure the mistress, and bide her time to attack the man.
Before they parted, the two ladies had talked themselves into ecstasies over the anticipated enjoyments of their scheme. It must be carried out at once.
“Let us tell nobody,” said Lady Clementina, “and set off to-morrow.”
“Enchanting!” cried Florimel, in full response.
Then her brow clouded.
“There is one difficulty, though,” she said. “—No man could ride Kelpie with a led horse; and if we had to employ another, Liftore would be sure to hear where we had gone.”
“That would spoil all,” said Clementina. “But how much better it would be to give that poor creature a rest, and bring the other I see him on sometimes!”
“And by the time we came back, there would not be a living creature, horse or man, anything bigger than a rat, about the stable. Kelpie herself would be dead of hunger, if she hadn’t been shot. No, no; where Malcolm goes Kelpie must go. Besides, she’s such fun—you can’t think!”
“Then I’ll tell you what!” cried Clementina, after a moment’s pause of perplexity: “we’ll ride down! It’s not a hundred miles, and we can take as many days on the road as we please.”
“Better and better!” cried Florimel. “We’ll run away with each other.—But what will dear old Bellair say?”