"I see it all now," he thought. "I was a fool to send such a present to her. She must know the story of her mother's mishap on the field, whether she knows how it came about or not. Naturally, she hates the thought of a woman actually joining in the hunt, though, this morning, I could have been certain that she was pouting because she could not show off on that handsome mare of hers."
"At any rate, she must feel that I have paid her the greatest compliment a hunter could, whether she takes his offering or leaves it. I must give Capes the tip I promised him, after all. He will be disappointed at not receiving one from the fair hands of Miss Mountford."
Captain Jack laughed with keen enjoyment at the idea of his messenger's indignation at a double loss.
Half an hour later Capes was mollified by receiving the promised douceur from his master, together with a few conciliatory words.
"You did your best, no doubt. It was really I who made a mistake in offering such a present to a lady who takes no interest in the hunt. I shall send you with it to Mr. Stapleton, and ask him to present it to his wife. Only mind, Jem. Not a word must be breathed about Miss Mountford's having had the first chance of it."
"Hope I know better than that, sir," replied Capes, touching his hat and looking sagaciously at his master.
Captain Jack was fully convinced that Kathleen would not allude to the incident, and that Mrs. Ellicott and her daughter would be far from wishing that any one should know of even this slight correspondence between Miss Mountford and himself. So in a few minutes Capes was on his way to Oakwood with a note to Mr. Stapleton, in which the captain begged that gentleman to present the brush to his wife, as the most graceful and the bravest lady-rider on the field that day. And, with the offering, he asked Mr. Stapleton to express the hope, on his behalf, that she would for many years grace the Hollingsby Hunt with her presence.
Captain Torrance could be sufficiently punctilious on occasion, and with all his faults there was a dash of chivalry in his composition. Besides, he had the memory of the faithful heart which was all his own during that short married life of his. In every young wife and mother he seemed to see a reflection of his own lost Adela, and pretty Mrs. Stapleton, with her little daughter, called forth all the best traits in Captain Jack's character. Hence the respectful message sent through the husband, and the offering which gave all the pleasure at Oakwood which it had failed to give at Hollingsby Hall.
Capes returned to his master in high glee with a note of thanks, and with his own pocket the heavier by the sovereign which he had given up as lost.
Both master and man were well pleased. The former was rejoicing that Kathleen's rejection of his offering had opened for him a new way of approach to her, and Capes, as he fingered his douceurs in gold and silver, said to himself, "Better luck next time. If I am not mistaken, the master is not real sorry for what has happened, and he's not the one to be daunted by a slap in the face from a girl. He'll find a way of paying her out some day."