lady mitford's proposition of a visit to egremont priory, though originally made in a kind of bravado, was remembered by most of her guests--notably by mrs. hammond, who saw in it a better chance of flirtation than she had had since her arrival at redmoor. ever since georgie had noticed the warm lingering hand-pressure exchanged between her husband and her visitor on that occasion, she had been thoroughly on the qui vive, and, like most young women ignorant of the world's ways, had imagined that the best way to nip a flirtation in the bud was by being perpetually observant of all that took place, and by letting the guilty persons know that their conduct was watched. it requires considerable experience before a woman discovers that--so long as the affair is confined within certain bounds--totally to ignore its existence is her very best policy; a policy which saves her from infinite domestic discomfort, and is besides the only possible method of galling her rival.

but georgie was not only young, but country-bred,--which means a great deal, for london girls at seventeen know more of the world than country girls at five-and-twenty,--and had had scarcely any experience. so she went to work naturally, and betrayed her anger in the plainest manner,--in perpetual supervision, in lip-bitings and hand-clenchings, in occasional tears, which would come welling up into her eyes, however far back she might hold her head, and were perfectly visible, however hastily brushed away. to mrs. hammond, who was a practised duelist, all this behaviour was delightful; she took it as a tribute to her own powers of fascination, and was proportionately pleased. flirtation, in its strongest sense, was absolutely necessary to her existence; but she never condescended to boys, and she regarded officers, when merely officers and nothing more, as very small game. she liked to entangle men of position and celebrity, no matter how grave or how old (she had perfectly charmed a bachelor bishop; and the enemies of one of our greatest physicians declared that his wife rendered his home unbearable on account of his attentions to mrs. hammond); and the latest literary, artistic, or theatrical lion was usually to be found hovering about her. but far beyond anything else she liked a flirtation with the husband of an acknowledged pretty woman; and the more beautiful the wife, the more bent was laura hammond on captivating the husband that gave her greater éclat than anything else, and she liked éclat. she liked being talked about,--up to a certain point; she liked women to express their wonder at what men could see in her to rave about; she liked to have repeated to her what men said at clubs: "'str'ord'nary little woman the hammond! there's cosmo gordon been everywhere with her, leaving that lovely wife of his all by herself, by jove! what the doose can there be in her?" and other speeches of a like nature. she also liked to be on good terms with the wives of her admirers--a thing by no means so difficult as might be imagined by the inexperienced. there are women so spaniel-like in their nature that they will fawn on those who injure them; and some of these consorted with mrs. hammond with a vain idea of propitiating her by their forbearance, and thus inducing her to give up the chase. she had at first thought that georgie mitford might be of this order; but she was by no means disappointed to find her otherwise. she gloried in a contest out of which she could come victorious, and despised all easy triumphs; there was pleasure in captivating a man whose position or celebrity reflected lustre on his enslaver; but there was tenfold pleasure when he, in his blind infatuation, set the rules of society at defiance, and openly neglected the wife whose beauty had hitherto been his greatest pride.

so mrs. hammond reminded sir charles that dear lady mitford had expressed a wish that they should go over in a party to egremont priory, and suggested that he had better see about it at once. of course sir charles saw about it immediately; told bligh to have some luncheon sent over the next day, and to mind that they had a big fire in the keep, for it was anything but picnic weather; wrote a line to major maxse and other officers to join them; and proceeded to poll his visitors as to how they would go over to the spot. how would mrs. hammond go? how? oh, wouldn't dear lady mitford ride over with her on horseback? they could get some gentlemen to escort them; and it would be delightful. dear lady mitford was much obliged, but would rather not. mrs. hammond could ride over on horseback if she chose, and doubtless would find plenty of cavaliers; but lady mitford would drive in a pony-phaeton. ah, of course! mrs. hammond had forgotten lady mitford's charming experience of pony-phaetons; and as she said this she looked round with a light and pleasant smile at colonel alsager, who was pulling his black beard, and glowering horribly close by. sir charles mitford had no objection to georgie's going in a phaeton--no objection to her driving, for the matter of that; but since that accident, it would be better, he thought, to have some one reliable in coachmanship sitting by her: lord dollamore, for instance? but dollamore declared he was the worst whip in the world; his horrible rheumatism had crippled his hands; and why should not that tremendous fellow alsager, who had already earned the medal of the humane society--why should not he go? ay, alsager was the very man, sir charles thought; and laurence, though he saw every atom of the play on dollamore's part, and felt himself completely jockeyed into the position, could discern no way out of it, and assented with apparent delight. he was not too pleased to see a certain look of terror which had pervaded lady mitford's face when dollamore was proposed as charioteer fade away when the other arrangement was finally decided upon. many men would have taken the change as a compliment; but laurence had had experience, and thought otherwise. lord dollamore, tom and mrs. charteris, one of the tyrrell girls, and captain bligh, might post over in the break; in which also went the luncheon-hampers. fred aspen, ellen tyrrell, and major winton, would ride. so the stud-groom had his orders, and all was arranged. sir charles had not said how he intended to go to egremont priory, and yet no one was surprised, when the cavalcade was on the point of setting out, to see his big horse tambour major brought out by the stud-groom, who was closely followed by a helper leading lady jane--a very dark iron-gray mare--with a lady's saddle on her. no one doubted for an instant for whom the lady's horse was intended. a bright red spot burned on lady mitford's cheek; and as she settled herself in the phaeton by laurence's side, she said in a loud and marked tone, "i hope, colonel alsager, i shall not have occasion to-day to increase the debt of gratitude i already owe to you."

mrs. masters raised her eyebrows as lord dollamore assisted her into the break, and afterwards had two minutes' confidential whispering with miss tyrrell; and mrs. charteris had scarcely time to frown down old tom, who was always full of his gaucheries, before he had ejaculated, "making the running early, eh? ah, haw, haw!"

sir charles mitford saw nothing of this little performance; but mrs. hammond, whose eyes and ears were everywhere at once, lost not one single scrap of it. so, just before the word for starting was given, while mrs. masters was doing her whispering, and lady mitford was burning with anger, and captain bligh was peering into the various hampers to see that nothing had been forgotten; while sir charles himself, intoxicated with her wonderful piquancy (she never looked to such advantage as in her riding-habit), was coming across to mount her, she turned calmly round, and said in a voice which could be heard by all round, "no,--thanks, sir charles--i won't trespass on your attention. as host you have all sorts of things to look after and to do.--major winton, if that chestnut will stand for half a minute--here, boy, look to his head!--i'll get you to mount me, and if you'll permit me i'll join your party. i'm the best of chaperons, major; and when it's required, my talent for admiring the landscape is enormous."

this last was uttered sotto voce, and with a quick side-glance towards ellen tyrrell. it was a clever move; and though by no means convincing, had some effect on all the party. sir charles bowed, sprang on tambour major, and rode away with disgust plainly visible in every feature; lady mitford looked disconcerted; so did alsager, though he understood it all; dollamore took his familiar stick in consultation, and whispered to it that she was a devilish clever little woman; tom charteris winked quietly at his wife; and major winton was delighted. he told some friends afterwards, in the freedom of barrack-room conversation, that he didn't go in for women's society and that sort of thing, you know, and he'd no idea he was so d--d nice.

so they went on. the party in the break was very humorous; they kept up a running fire of jokes against bligh about something being forgotten, and compelled him (naturally a nervous man, and very proud of his arrangement of such matters) to dive frequently to the bottom of hampers and return with the supposed missing article in his hand, his face purple with stooping and triumph combined. captain bligh was not a humorist, but he retorted with several broad allusions to tom charteris's distillery; and, a flash of old sporting experience having suddenly revealed to him that there was an affinity of meaning between the words 'gin' and 'snare,' he dilated thereon after a fashion that mr. george cruikshank might have envied. they were very quiet in the pony-phaeton, for georgie was annoyed at having so plainly shown her anger; and laurence, finding that his few remarks about the weather and the scenery only gained monosyllabic answers, soon lapsed into silence. sir charles was seen going across country at a great pace, apparently comforting himself by taking it out of tambour major, and clearing everything in first-rate style. the mounted party seemed to enjoy themselves most of all; major winton was in the seventh heaven, for mrs. hammond did all the talking, requiring him only to throw in an occasional word, and she looked so fascinating that he devoted himself to her during the ride, entirely neglecting ellen tyrrell--to that young lady's great gratification, be it said, as she regarded the major as a fogie, and was infinitely better pleased with the attentions of one of the officers who joined the cavalcade just as it emerged on the redmoor.

the winter picnic passed off much more pleasantly than might have been augured from its commencement. during the drive georgie had had time deliberately to examine herself, and to arrive at the conclusion that what she was doing was very foolish, and more than that, she was afraid, very wrong. it might be that her own jealousy had jaundiced her ideas; it might be that the pressure of the hand from which her misgiving first dated, was entirely imaginary. what right had she to suspect charley of fickleness? had he not proved his truth in the noblest way, by coming back to her in the time of his prosperity and raising her to her present position? was it likely, then, that he would so suddenly change? yes, she had been very wrong to permit the growth of such horrible suspicions, and she would make up for it to charley by tenfold warmth and affection. georgie's already-suffused face deepened in hue as she remembered what, in the bitterness of her spirit, she had said to colonel alsager on taking her seat in the phaeton. what could he have thought of her? whatever he may have thought, nothing could be gathered from the calm grave expression of his face. very likely he guessed what was passing through his companion's mind; for from the little he had seen of georgie, he believed her to possess more commonsense than is given to the average woman, and he was certain she could show it in no better way than by totally ignoring this business, at all events in its present stage. laurence saw plainly enough mrs. hammond's intentions. there was not a point in her system of strategy which he did not comprehend; and he also saw that mitford was morally weak, and obviously flattered by her attentions. in the present stage of affairs, however, for lady mitford to show herself annoyed was the very worst policy she could adopt; and while she kept silence laurence guessed she was arguing the question within herself, and earnestly hoped she would come to the right decision. he knew she had done so when, just as they were nearing their destination, she looked up with a bright smile and said, "i have been a very dull companion, i am afraid, colonel alsager! but the truth is i was full of thought."

"a bad thing to bring out to a picnic, lady mitford. i should advise you to discard it as speedily as possible."

"i fully intend to do so, and hope every one else will follow your advice. by the way, i may say, 'physician, heal thyself;' for you've been most sedate ever since we started."

"i was wondering," laughed laurence, "among other things, what the groom seated behind us could think of us. he's young, i see, and may possibly therefore imagine that silence is a sign of good breeding."

"in that case, in his opinion we must be perfect aristocrats, for we've not exchanged a word. ah, here comes the cavalcade; how well mrs. hammond looks!--doesn't she? and how perfectly she sits her horse!"

"yes, she rides admirably, and--ah, i thought so; she has just discovered we were looking at her, or she would not have done that."

"that" was to put her horse at a bit of bank and hedge bordering the grass-meadow, on which she and her party were cantering. she cleared it admirably, and drew rein close by the phaeton. as her horse jumped, mrs. hammond caught laurence's eye, and her own lighted up with a saucy triumph; the exercise had done her good, and she was in great spirits.

"well, dear lady mitford, i hope you've enjoyed your drive; no accident this time, i see. but colonel alsager is a good whip.--i've heard your praises sung often by men who really understand the subject, colonel alsager. they say you have the very hand for a restive animal--light, but firm."

"they get away from me sometimes, though, mrs. hammond," said laurence, looking up.

"ah, that happens with every one," she replied; "but you always conquer at last, don't you?"

"always; and when i get them in hand again, i make them remember their freaks, and pay for them."

"you're quite right," said she carelessly. "ah, here is major winton. i assure you, lady mitford, the major is the most perfect escort; full of talk and fun, he never suffers you to be dull for an instant. and there's the break arrived, and that energetic captain bligh managing everything as usual. what very large hampers! and i declare there's sir charles arrived before any of us, and superintending the laying of the cloth in that romantic-looking old tower."

lady mitford caught sight of her husband at the same time, and hurried off to him. she was full of penitence, and wanted to set herself right with him at once.

"ah, and there's lady mitford off at the mere sound of his name. look at that, colonel alsager, and--will you have the kindness to help me to dismount, colonel alsager?--no, thank you, major, i won't trouble you; the colonel is already on the ground. there, laurence alsager," she whispered, as she sprang from the saddle, "that is what i pine for,--domestic love;" and she heaved a little sigh, and tapped the ground with the delicate little riding-boot, which the lifting of her habit had exposed.

for an instant laurence was taken off his guard, and said bitterly, "when you might have had it, you spurned it;" then recovering himself, he added, "however, we have had that out once, and--"

"and here is major winton," said mrs. hammond in her airiest manner. "luncheon already, eh? then you shall give me your arm, major, for this turf-hill is awkward to climb, especially in a habit."

meanwhile georgie had hurried away to where her husband was standing watching the laying of the cloth in the one room of the keep, by the old chatelaine and her granddaughter. georgie made her way up to him, and with the tears rising in her eyes, said, "oh, charley, i'm so glad i have found you; i wanted to speak to you."

"did you, little woman?" said he, looking down at her in great astonishment; "what about? nothing left behind, is there?"

"no; that is--at least--i don't know; it was not about that i wanted to speak."

"what was it, then? nothing the matter with the ponies?--not another accident, eh?"

"no, o no; i only wanted to say that i hoped you would not be annoyed at--at anything i did when we started from home to-day--about the way in which the party was divided, i mean."

"why, you silly little woman, of course not; you had nothing to do with it. if winton chose to make himself ridiculous, it wasn't your fault. there, come, dry your eyes, georgie, and let's go and look after the people."

so, then, he had not noticed her anger or her foolish speech at all. georgie hardly knew whether to be pleased or vexed at the discovery.

the indefatigable captain bligh had now brought his arrangements to a head, and all was ready for luncheon. a large fire burned in the great open fireplace of the old room, lighting up the grim old walls, and flickering through the narrow slips and embrasures, whence in old days the archers had done good service. lady mitford headed the table, with lord dollamore and major maxse, who had ridden over with some of his brother officers, on either side. mrs. masters was delighted to find herself next to colonel alsager; tom charteris was placed opposite the largest piece of cold beef, and told to go on carving it until somebody stopped him; mrs. charteris was acting as a kind of female aide-de-camp to captain bligh; and if mrs. hammond found major winton, who was on one side of her, unusually talkative, she could make no such complaint of sir charles mitford, who sat on the other side, and was unusually silent.

the meal went off with great success. everybody was hungry, and nearly everybody was good-tempered; there was abundance of champagne, and the officers and the young ladies had a great deal of laughter; and then they set out to explore the ruins, and there was that charming story of the murdered lady, and the spot where she appeared was pointed out by the old housekeeper, who told the legend in a deliciously-funny manner; and tom charteris hid himself behind a buttress, and at its conclusion bounced out among them with a great roar, clanking a dog-chain which he had picked up. all the ladies screamed, and ellen tyrrell was so frightened that she nearly fainted, and had to be supported by frank somers, the officer who had ridden with her from redmoor; and even when she recovered she was so weak as to be compelled to walk very slowly, so that she and her companion were some distance behind the rest of the party.

with this exception they all kept together; and georgie had the satisfaction of engaging her husband's arm during the greater portion of their stay. when the time came for their return, the only change made was, that mrs. masters had manoeuvred so successfully as to induce lady mitford to change places with her,--georgie returning in the break, and laurence driving the widow in the phaeton. but this time the equestrians all started together. sir charles did not tear away on tambour major; for though still annoyed with mrs. hammond, he had by this time got his temper under control. it was a trying time for tambour major, who hated being held back, and pushed and jumped so as to be very disagreeable company at close quarters. he was very disagreeable indeed to major winton, who had eaten a large lunch and wanted to digest it quietly; and equally disagreeable to frank somers and ellen tyrrell, who were engaged in a conversation which compelled them to keep their horses at a walking-pace. the only person who was really pleased was mrs. hammond, who in tambour major's struggles and plunges saw her way to the end which she had all along intended to accomplish.

"that's more show than business, i'm thinking, sir charles," said she, pointing with her whip to the horse as he gave a tremendous plunge.

"how do you mean 'show,' mrs. hammond? i only know it's all i can do to hold him steady."

"let him have his head, then; he looks as if he would rush his fences, and had not the least notion of steady jumping."

"you should have seen him this morning; he--"

"you took good care i should not, by running away from us."

"he'd do just the same going home. i can take you the way i came, over some of the prettiest jumps you have ever seen," said mitford, getting nettled about his horse. "come, who'll follow?"

"i, for one," said mrs. hammond; but no one else spoke.

"they only want a lead; come, let us show them the way;" and as he spoke, sir charles turned his horse out of the high-road up a short sloping embankment on to a broad stretch of moorland, and with mrs. hammond close by his side, was away at full gallop. the rest of the riding party looked after them, but did not attempt to follow. major winton, finding himself decidedly de trop, lit a cigar, and jogged lazily along by himself, while the others continued their conversation.

away go the big black horse and the dark iron-gray, side by side, flying over the purple moorland, lady jane holding her own well with her companion, let him tear and struggle as he may to shake her off. now far away to the right looms dark the first obstacle, which sir charles points out with his whip, and at sight of which mrs. hammond rings out a merry little laugh. as they approach, it developes itself as a double line of posts and rails, good stiff oak timber, which must either be cleared or declined, through which there is no scrambling. tambour major sees it already, and rushes at it with a great snort of triumph, clearing it at a bound. nor is the gray to be balked; scarcely has he alighted, foam-flecked and trembling, in the field beyond, than lady jane is by his side.

"that's number one," said sir charles; "the next we shall find just at the end of--" but mrs. hammond laid her whip upon his arm. she had previously looked round and marked that they were far out of the range of observation by their late companions.

"quite enough," she said; "i am satisfied with tambour major's performances, and own i did him grievous injustice. from the manner in which he went at that, i am certain he could do anything. besides," she added, bending forward and patting lady jane's neck with her pretty dogskin gauntlet, "i wanted to speak to you."

"to me, mrs. hammond?"

"yes, to you--to you, alone. you are angry with me?"

"i--angry? 'pon my word i can assure you--i--"

"ah, don't deny it." her voice dropped into its most musical and softest key. "do you think i am not quick to read any change in your manner?"

"no, but really--i haven't the least right to--"

"the least right! i thought you had promised to be my friend,--my firm, steadfast, constant friend. ah, if you knew how i have longed for such a friend,--one in whom i could confide, and who would advise me!"

she dropped her head on her breast as she said this, and the red rays of the dying sun touched the tight braids of her chestnut hair with gold.

"such a friend you will find in me," said mitford; "i meant it when i said it--i mean it now."

"no," said laura plaintively, "no; you have other ties and other claims upon you, and it must not be. the world cannot understand such confidence as i would give and receive; it is too pure and too earnest for worldly comprehension.--already--but i won't speak of that."

"finish your sentence, please."

"no, it was nothing, really nothing."

"then tell me, or i shall fancy it was something. tell me."

"how you compel me to obey you! i was going to say--it's excessively silly of me; very probably it was only my own foolish notion, but i'm so nervous and anxious about anything which concerns--my friends; i thought that lady mitford seemed a little annoyed at your obvious intention of riding with me this morning."

she stole a look at him under her hat to see how he received this shot.

"who? georgie! annoyed? oh, you must have been mistaken. i should have noticed it in an instant if that had been the case."

"you think so! well, then, very likely it was my mistake. and i was so frightened, so fearful of causing any misunderstanding between you, so terrified at the thought of getting you into trouble, that i at once called that odious major winton into my service, and have suffered him to bore me with his niaiseries throughout the day."

"oh, that was the reason that you flirted with winton, then! i thought--"

"thought what? ah, i've caught you! you were angry then?"

"well, perhaps,--just a little."

"i should have been deeply hurt if you had not been; it would have showed that you had no real interest in me, and that would be dreadful. just before i knew you, i held my life as utterly valueless, the daily repetition of a dull dreary task,--nothing to live for, nobody to care for. and this morning, when i thought you were really angry with me, that feeling came back so hopelessly--oh, so hopelessly! i think i should die if i had no one to take interest in me now."

she moved her hand towards the little pocket in her saddle-flap for her handkerchief, but he stopped it in its descent and held it in his own.

"while i live," said he, "you will never have cause to make that complaint."

and their eyes met,--hers soft and dreamy, his fierce and eager. a delicious interchange of glances to the persons concerned, but perhaps not so pleasant to a looker-on. apparently very displeasing to the only one then present--a tall slim woman, picking her way in a very cattish manner across the adjoining meadow; who stopped on catching sight of the equestrians, frowned heavily as she watched them, and crouched under the shadow of the hedge until they had passed.