Presently they came to the Shapleigh carriage. Sylvia had been acutely conscious of Skelton’s presence ever since he drove into the enclosure; and she also had seen the contempt visited upon the boy, and her tender heart rebelled against it. As Skelton and Lewis came up she turned a beautiful rosy red, and, after having had her hand tenderly pressed by Skelton, she opened the carriage door and invited Lewis to take a seat and watch the first events. Skelton declined an invitation of the same kind for himself, and chose to stand on the ground and have Lewis monopolise the front seat in the great open barouche. Mrs. Shapleigh had joined in Sylvia’s cordial invitation, and so profoundly grateful was Skelton for it that he almost persuaded himself that Mrs. Shapleigh was not half such a fool after all. As for Sylvia, he thought her at that moment adorable; and there was certainly some distinction in her notice, because she was commonly counted to be the most spirited girl in the county, and one of the most admired, and Miss Sylvia had a quick wit of her own that could make her respected anywhere. Besides, old Tom was a man of consequence, so that the backing of the Shapleighs was about as good as anybody’s. Sylvia felt intensely sorry for Lewis, and sorry that she had ever sold Alabaster to Blair. The boy was very silent, and was wondering, painfully, for the hundredth time, why nobody ever noticed him scarcely. Sylvia tried to cheer him up. She pinned a rose from a bouquet she carried to his jacket. She even got out of the carriage and took a little stroll about the infield, with Lewis for an escort, leaving Skelton to the tender mercies of Mrs. Shapleigh. Sylvia knew well enough how to command civility for herself as well as for Lewis, and when people spoke to her she brought the boy in the conversation with a pointedness that could not be ignored. She returned after a while to the barouche with a light of triumph in her eyes. She had managed much better than Skelton, with all of his distinction and prestige, women being naturally much cleverer at social fence than men. Skelton could have kissed her hands in the excess of his gratitude. He smiled to himself as he thought: “How much more power have women than men sometimes! Here is this girl, that can circumvent the whole county, while I only fail in trying to bully it.”