“She had to,� said Trench dryly.
“Precisely,� smiled the judge; “now ask her to dance and give her the chance to say ‘no,’ then she’ll forgive you.�
“I fancy there are more things to forgive than that,� replied Caleb musingly; “Mrs. Eaton has let me feel the weight of my social position.�
“My dear boy, Jinny is the biggest cad in the world,� said the judge, drinking a glass of punch; “go and do as I tell you or I’ll drop your acquaintance. By the way, Caleb, how much are cockerels now?� and the old man’s laughter drew all eyes.
But it was after supper that, very much against his determinations, Caleb found himself asking Diana to dance. He has never known how it happened, unless it was the compelling power of her beauty in the corner of the ballroom when the music began again.
“May I have the honor?� he asked.
Diana hesitated the twentieth part of a second; it was almost imperceptible, but it sent the blood to the young man’s forehead. Then she smiled graciously. “With pleasure,� she said in a clear voice.
It happened that they swept past Eaton, her skirt brushing against him, and in another moment they were going down the old ballroom together. All eyes followed them and returned to Jacob Eaton, who was standing discomfited for an instant. It was only one instant; the next Jacob was more suave and smiling than ever, and an heiress from Lexington danced with him. However, in that one instant, his face had startled the groups nearest him. People suddenly remembered that it was said that Eaton carried firearms at all times, and was one of the straightest shots that side of the Mississippi.
Later, when Diana was driving home with her father, she spoke her mind. “I wish you’d make Jacob Eaton behave himself, pa,� she said; “he acts as if I belonged to him and he could choose my—my friends! I don’t like his manners up at Broad Acres, either; he said the other day that the cold grapery should be pulled down, and that he didn’t believe in owning a race-horse.�
Colonel Royall rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully; his eyes were troubled.