ng herself. Maude knew most
of them by sight, but as her eyes roved here and there, they lighted on
a young man coming up towards the dais whom she did not know. He
stopped almost close to her, to speak to Aumerle, now Duke of York, so
that Maude had time and opportunity to study him.

He was dressed in the height of the fashion. In the present day his
costume would be thought supremely ridiculous for a man; but when he
wore it, it was considered perfectly enchanting. It consisted of a
gown--similar to a long dressing-gown, nearly touching the feet--of blue
velvet, spangled with gold fleur-de-lis, and lined with white satin; an
under-tunic (equivalent to a waistcoat) of bright apple-green satin,
with wide sweeping sleeves of the same, cut at the edge into imitations
of oak-leaves. Under these were tight sleeves of pink velvet, edged at
the wrist by white frills, and a similar white frill finished the gown
at the neck. His boots were black velvet, with white buttons; they were
about a yard long, tapering to a point, and were tied up to the garter
by silver chains, a pattern resembling a church window being cut through
the upper portion of the boot. These very fashionable and most
uncomfortable articles were known as cracowes, having come over from
Germany with the late Queen Anne. In the young man's hand was a black
velvet cap, covered by a spreading plume of apple-green feathers. Round
the waist, outside the gown, was a tight black velvet band, to which was
fastened the scabbard of a golden-hilted sword.

This extremely smart young gentleman was Sir Edmund de Holand, Earl of
Kent,--brother and heir of the Duke of Surrey, and brother also of
Constance's step-mother. He was a true Holand in appearance, nearly six
feet in height, most graceful in carriage, very fair in complexion, his
hair a glossy golden colour, with a moustache of similar shade. His age
was just twenty-one. He was pre-eminently handsome--surpassing even
Surrey. His eyes were of the softest blue, clear and bright; his voice
soft, musical, and insinuating.

I am careful to describe the Earl of Kent fully, because he is about to
become a prominent person in the story, and also because he had
absolutely nothing to recommend him beyond his physical courage, his
taste in dress, his fascinating manners, and his very handsome person.
These points have to be dwelt upon, since his virtues lay entirely in
them.

Kent and York conversed in a low ton