Astarte put Rufus down with a little laugh.
"Only well-bred ones," she said.
"Well, let me introduce you both. This is Guy Heathcote, Grace; I've often talked to you about him. Guy, this is my friend, Miss Grace Conway."
I bowed.
"I don't know how to apologize for Rufus," I said. "I can only think you must be like someone he knows."
"I expect I am," she answered with delightful frankness. Then, turning to Lady Bulstrode, she added, "I came to bring you your change. Here it is—four pound ten." And she put down a little pile of gold on the desk.
"Did the mare go all right?"
She nodded.
"Oh, yes, we went in and out in great style, and the children enjoyed themselves enormously. I mustn't stop to talk now, though. I've promised to tell them a story before dinner, and they won't go to sleep if I disappoint them. You shall hear all about our adventures later."
She smiled—that dear, merry smile I knew so well—and the next moment she had gone.