As soon as she saw me, she urged her mare to a trot, and came towards me with the loveliest faint blush and dawning smile of welcome, when, all at once, Brutus came to a dead stop, which nearly threw me on his neck, and stood quivering in every limb. 'Do you see that?' he said hoarsely. 'And I was about to forgive her!' I saw: my insinuation, baseless enough at the beginning, was now but too well justified. Colonel Cockshott was on his raw-boned brown hunter, and even my brief acquaintance with horses enabled me to see that Wild Rose no longer regarded him with her former indifference. Diana and the Colonel had reined up and seemed waiting for me--would Brutus never move? 'Show your pride,' I said in an agonised whisper, 'Treat her with the contempt she deserves!' 'I will,' he said between his bit and clenched teeth. And then Miss Gittens came bumping by on the grey, and, before I could interfere, my Houyhnhnm was off like a shot in pursuit. I saw Diana's sweet, surprised face: I heard the Colonel's jarring laugh as I passed, and I--I could only bow in mortified appeal, and long for a gulf to leap into like Curtius! I don't know what I said to Miss Gittens. I believe I made myself recklessly amiable, and I remember she lingered over parting in a horribly emotional manner. I was too miserable to mind: all the time I was seeing Diana's astonished eyes, hearing Colonel Cockshott's heartless laugh. Brutus made a kind of explanation on our way home: 'You meant well,' he said, 'but you see you were wrong. Your proposed sacrifice, for which I am just as grateful to you as if it had been effected, was useless. All I could do in return was to take you where your true inclination lay. I, too, can be unselfish.' I was too dejected to curse his unselfishness. I did not even trouble myself to explain what it had probably cost me. I only felt drearily that I had had my last ride, I had had enough of horsemanship for ever! That evening I went to the theatre, I wanted to deaden thought for the moment; and during one of the intervals I saw Lady Verney in the stalls, and went up to speak to her. 'Your niece is not with you?' I said; 'I thought I should have had a chance of--of saying good-bye to her before she left for the continent.' I had a lingering hope that she might ask me to lunch, that I might have one more opportunity of explaining. 'Oh,' said Lady Verney, 'but that is all changed; we are not going--at least, not yet.' 'Not going!' I cried, incredulous for very joy. 'No, it is all very sudden; but,--well, you are almost like an old friend, and you are sure to hear it sooner or later. I only knew myself this afternoon, when she came in from her ride. Colonel Cockshott has proposed and she has accepted him. We're _so_ pleased about it. Wasn't dear Mrs. ---- delightful in that last act? I positively saw real tears on her face!'