foot.
His colour deserted him, and the unlucky hat fell to the floor; and yet
she stood before him, awaiting his reply, calm, quite calm, serious,
apparently a little anxious. The duchess was in earnest conversation
with his mother. Lord Montfort had walked up to Miss Grandison, and was
engaged in arranging a pattern for her. Ferdinand and Henrietta
were quite unobserved. He looked up; he caught her eye; and then he
whispered, 'This is hardly fair.'

She stretched forth her hand, took his hat, and laid it on the table;
then, turning to Katherine, she said, in a tone which seemed to admit
no doubt, 'Captain Armine will ride with us;' and she seated herself by
Lady Armine.

The expedition was a little delayed by Ferdinand having to send for his
horse; the others had, in the meantime, arrived. Yet this half-hour,
by some contrivance, did at length disappear. Lord Montfort continued
talking to Miss Grandison. Henrietta remained seated by Lady Armine.
Ferdinand revolved a great question in, his mind, and it was this: Was
Lord Montfort aware of the intimate acquaintance between himself and
Miss Temple? And what was the moving principle of her present conduct?
He conjured up a thousand reasons, but none satisfied him. His curiosity
was excited, and, instead of regretting his extracted promise to join
the cavalcade, he rejoiced that an opportunity was thus afforded him of
perhaps solving a problem in the secret of which he now began to feel
extremely interested.

And yet in truth when Ferdinand found himself really mounted, and riding
by the side of Henrietta Temple once more, for Lord Montfort was very
impartial in his attentions to his fair companions, and Ferdinand
continually found himself next to Henrietta, he really began to think
the world was bewitched, and was almost sceptical whether he was or was
not Ferdinand Armine. The identity of his companion too was so complete:
Henrietta Temple in her riding-habit was the very image most keenly
impressed upon his memory. He looked at her and stared at her with
a face of curious perplexity. She did not, indeed, speak much; the
conversation was always general, and chiefly maintained by Lord
Montfort, who, though usually silent and reserved, made on this occasion
successful efforts to be amusing. His attention to Ferdinand too was
remarkable; it was impossible to resist such genuine and unaffected
kindness. It smote Ferdinand's heart that he had received his lordship's
first