" Then he turned to his cousin. "Here is your beau cavalier,
Constance," he said, almost jealously, as Jasper Vermont came leisurely
up the steps of the grand stand; then, with a swift glance at the girl
which was not lost upon Lady Merivale, he went down once more to his
father.
"The bell is about to ring now," he said. "Are you sure you can see?"
"Quite sure," replied Lord Barminster curtly. "How is the horse?"
"In splendid form, sir," Adrien answered cheerfully. "I should think it
is a safe thing. If you are quite all right, I'll get back to the others
now, before the crush begins."
His father nodded, and the young man made his way back to the stand.
Here he found the Castle guests already seated. Harsh cries from the
betting-ring still ascended at intervals, though the majority of the
vast crowd had settled down to watch the race. With a thrill of
pleasure, Adrien saw that Lady Constance had kept a seat vacant for him
beside herself; and with a light word to Lady Merivale as he passed, he
took his place, and unstrapping the heavy field-glasses, arranged them
to Lady Constance's liking.
"Can you see all right?" he asked.
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