“Have you any riding clothes?” Penelope whispered to him.

“Without a doubt,” he answered.  “I will go and change in a few minutes.”

“We start in half an hour,” Somerfield remarked.  “Even that allows us none too much time.”

“Perhaps,” the Duke suggested diffidently, “you would like to ride over, Prince?  It is a good eleven miles, and you would have a chance of getting into your stride.”

The Prince shook his head.

“No,” he said, “I should like to motor with you others, if I may.”

“Just as you like, of course,” the Duke agreed.  “Grace’s mare is over there now.  We shall be able to have a look at her before the race, at any rate.”

The opinions, after the Prince had left the table, were a little divided as to what was likely to happen.

“For a man who has never even hunted and knows nothing whatever about the country,” Somerfield declared, “to attempt to ride in a steeplechase of this sort is sheer folly.  If you take my advice, Lady Grace, you will get out of it.  Lady Barbarity is far too good a mare to have her knees broken.”

“I am perfectly content to take my risks,” Lady Grace answered confidently.  “If the Prince had never ridden before in his life, I would trust him.”

Somerfield turned away, frowning.

“What do you think about it, Penelope?” he asked.

“I am afraid,” she answered, “that I agree with Grace.”

Two punctures and a leaking valve delayed them over an hour on the road.  When they reached their destination, the first race was already over.

“It’s shocking bad luck,” the Duke declared, “but there’s no earthly chance of your seeing the course, Prince.  Come on the top of the stand with me, and bring your glasses.  I think I can point out the way for you.”

“That will do excellently,” the Prince answered.  “There is no need to go and look at every jump.  Show me where we start and as near as possible the way we have to go, and tell me where we finish.”

The course was a natural one, and the stand itself on a hill.  The greater part of it was clearly visible from where they stood.  The Duke pointed out the water jump with some trepidation, but the Prince’s glasses rested on it only for a moment.  He pointed to a clump of trees.

“Which side there?” he asked.

“To the left,” the Duke answered.  “Remember to keep inside the red flags.”

The Prince nodded.

“Where do we finish?” he asked.

The Duke showed him.

“That is all right,” he said.  “I need not look any more.”

In the paddock some of the horses were being led around.  The Prince noted them approvingly.

“Very nice horses,” he said,—­“light, but very nice.  That one I like best,” he added, pointing to a dark bay mare, who was already giving her boy some trouble.

“That’s lucky,” the Duke answered, “for she’s your mount.  I must go and talk to the clerk about your entry.  It is a little late, but I think that it will be all right.”