"Did you, little woman?" said he, looking down at her in great astonishment; "what about? Nothing left behind, is there?" "No; that is--at least--I don't know; it was not about that I wanted to speak." "What was it, then? Nothing the matter with the ponies?--not another accident, eh?" "No, O no; I only wanted to say that I hoped you would not be annoyed at--at anything I did when we started from home to-day--about the way in which the party was divided, I mean." "Why, you silly little woman, of course not; you had nothing to do with it. If Winton chose to make himself ridiculous, it wasn't your fault. There, come, dry your eyes, Georgie, and let's go and look after the people." So, then, he had not noticed her anger or her foolish speech at all. Georgie hardly knew whether to be pleased or vexed at the discovery. The indefatigable Captain Bligh had now brought his arrangements to a head, and all was ready for luncheon. A large fire burned in the great open fireplace of the old room, lighting up the grim old walls, and flickering through the narrow slips and embrasures, whence in old days the archers had done good service. Lady Mitford headed the table, with Lord Dollamore and Major Maxse, who had ridden over with some of his brother officers, on either side. Mrs. Masters was delighted to find herself next to Colonel Alsager; Tom Charteris was placed opposite the largest piece of cold beef, and told to go on carving it until somebody stopped him; Mrs. Charteris was acting as a kind of female aide-de-camp to Captain Bligh; and if Mrs. Hammond found Major Winton, who was on one side of her, unusually talkative, she could make no such complaint of Sir Charles Mitford, who sat on the other side, and was unusually silent. The meal went off with great success. Everybody was hungry, and nearly everybody was good-tempered; there was abundance of champagne, and the officers and the young ladies had a great deal of laughter; and then they set out to explore the ruins, and there was that charming story of the murdered lady, and the spot where she appeared was pointed out by the old housekeeper, who told the legend in a deliciously-funny manner; and Tom Charteris hid himself behind a buttress, and at its conclusion bounced out among them with a great roar, clanking a dog-chain which he had picked up. All the ladies screamed, and Ellen Tyrrell was so frightened that she nearly fainted, and had to be supported by Frank Somers, the officer who had ridden with her from Redmoor; and even when she recovered she was so weak as to be compelled to walk very slowly, so that she and her companion were some distance behind the rest of the party.