For a moment her eyes were soft with tenderness. He caught her hand and kissed it. "I must go, of course. I shall be back in a day or two and I shall want my answer."
She gathered up the bridle. "I shall give it you - perhaps!" she said, and rode off, leaving him still standing under the elm trees.
He made no attempt to overtake her, but rode back to the town at a sober pace, arriving at his brother's house rather late for breakfast. His sister-in-law, regarding him with a little curiosity, asked him where he had been, and upon his answering briefly, in the Allee Verte, rallied him on such a display on matutinal energy.
"Confess, Charles! You had an assignation with an unknown charmer!"
He smiled, but shook his head. "Not precisely - no!"
"Don't tell me you rode out for your health's sake! You have not been alone!"
"No," he replied, "I had the good fortune to meet Lady Barbara."
She concealed the dismay she felt, but was for the moment too much nonplussed to say anything. The Earl filled what might have been felt to have been an awkward pause by enquiring in his languid way: "Is an early morning ride one of her practices? She is an unexpected creature!"
"She is a splendid horsewoman," said the Colonel evasively.
"Certainly. I have very often seen her at the stag hunting during the winter."