ean to a man such as himself, a man whose vanity had never been
fed, who had a desire to control and a longing for active out-of-door
life.

"If it were mine, if it were mine!" he would say to himself. "Oh! damn
it all, if it were only mine!"

And there were other places as fine, and finer places he had never
seen,--Oswyth, Hurst, and Towers,--all Walderhurst's all belonging to
this one respectable, elderly muff. Thus he summed up the character of
his relative. As for himself he was young, strong, and with veins
swelling with the insistent longing for joyful, exultant life. The
sweating, panting drudgery of existence in India was a thought of hell
to him. But there it was, looming up nearer and nearer with every
heavenly English day that passed. There was nothing for it but to go
back--go back, thrust one's neck into the collar again, and sweat and be
galled to the end. He had no ambitions connected with his profession. He
realised loathingly in these days that he had always been waiting,
waiting.

The big, bright-faced woman who was always hanging about Hester, doing
her favours, he actually began to watch feverishly. She was such a fool;
she always looked so healthy, and she was specially such a fool over
Walderhurst. When she had news of him, it was to be seen shining in her
face.

She had a sentimental school-girl fancy that during his absence she
would apply herself to the task of learning to ride. She had been
intending to do so before he went away; they had indeed spoken of it
together, and Walderhurst had given her a handsome, gentle young mare.
The creature was as kind as she was beautiful. Osborn, who was
celebrated for his horsemanship, had promised to undertake to give the
lessons.

A few days after her return from London with her purchases, she asked
the husband and wife to lunch with her at Palstrey, and during the meal
broached the subject.

"I should like to begin soon, if you can spare the time for me," she
said. "I want to be able to go out with him when he comes back. Do you
think I shall be slow in learning? Perhaps I ought to be lighter to ride
well."

"I think you will be pretty sure to have a first-class seat," Osborn
answered. "You will be likely to look particularly well."

"Do you think I shall? How good you are to encourage me. How soon could
I begin?"

She was quite agreeably excited. In fact, she was delighted by innocent
visions of herself as Walderhurst's equestrian companion.