Not in vain was an ancestor of Miss Clary victorious in a combat with the Highlanders; her grandfather as well as her uncle had manfully subdued Tippoo Sahib, and her father had carried the victory at the last Derby. With her horsewhip she frightened the intruders, and Clary gave her horse the spurs again; in a moment the young girl and her governess rode upstairs! In the hall where the ball was given the elite of the most elegant society in Marseilles were gathered together; all the notables which the English colony of that place could muster were there, as well as all those in high office, and also the moneyed aristocracy; in fact, everybody of standing felt glad to attend the marriage feast of the house of Mortimer & Co. Just now the sounds of a quadrille commenced, and the various pairs began to arrange themselves for the occasion, when the lackey in attendance was pushed aside and a horse's head looked inquisitively into the ball-room.
It was a horse, surely and truly a horse—there was no doubt about that! The animal that put its proud-holding head into the ball-room had a silver bit, and its fine, cunning eye rested quite astonished upon the elegant company; who also, almost petrified with astonishment, came to a general standstill.
The lady of the house broke into shrieks, while Mortimer with his hands prevented further intrusion.
And yet what he saw was after all not so terrible, for an exquisitely beautiful young lady sat gracefully on the four-footed intruder, and a pair of provocative eyes shone brightly under a riding hat ornamented with rich feathers.
The wife of Lot, however, could not have been more torpid than the company in Palais Mortimer, especially when behind the first horse's head a second one appeared, and Madame Caraman became visible.
Mortimer thought he was dreaming. Was his ball-room then turned into a riding-school?
Miss Ellis did not give him much time to become horrified; she bowed politely before the banker, and said:
"Mr. Mortimer, if you please, I have to speak to you!"
Well, although the banker was an Englishman he was not a friend of horses, and while he with some anxiety looked at the splendid horse and its rider, Clary's animal forgot its manners so far that it commenced without the least ceremony to scrape upon the heavy carpet as if it were in Hyde Park or Rotten Row, and also Madame Caraman's horse neglected the rules of etiquette in that manner that the trainers of his youth deserve punishment for having only partly fulfilled their duty.
The dancing pairs stood, as far as it could be accomplished, quite safe in the background, and the older ladies and gentlemen quietly returned thanks to God, that it was Mr. Mortimer's house, and not theirs, in which this scene was played.