"He is coming here," said Eve. "I thought it would be nice for Ella to welcome him at The Forest."
"And I shall be delighted to show him round; he will be interested in my stud," said Alan.
"I hear it is one of the best in England," said Ella.
"I think it compares favorably with most of them," he answered.
He remained about an hour, declined to stay for lunch, and Eve did not press him.
He motored to the stud and found Sam Kerridge, his stud groom, waiting for him. Sam had been at the stud since its foundation. He was a clever man with horses, an excellent judge, and a shrewd buyer.
"That American has been here again," he said. "He's dead set on buying
Mameluke; I have tried to convince him he's not for sale."
"So have I," said Alan with a laugh. "Perhaps he thinks you can persuade me to part with him; Valentine Braund is a persevering man."
"Like most Americans, he has plenty of cheek," said Sam. "It's a big offer he has made."
"Thirty thousand, and Mameluke's not a young horse," said Alan.