’And he cut it out with his knife, and caught that great trout with it directly,’ said Reginald.

‘And neither half drowned Maurice, nor sent him home again?’ asked Lily.

‘I contented myself with taking away his weapon,’ said the Marquis; ’and he wished for nothing better than to poke about in the gutters for insects; it was only Redgie that teased him into the nobler sport.’

Emily was inclined to make a serious matter of the accident, but her cousin said ten words while she said one, and by the time her first sentence was uttered, she found him talking about his ride to Devereux Castle.

He and Claude set out as soon as breakfast was over, and came back about three o’clock; Claude was tired with the heat, and betook himself to the sofa, where he fell asleep, under pretence of reading, but the indefatigable Marquis was ready and willing to set out with Reginald and Wat Greenwood to shoot rabbits.

Dinner-time came, and Emily sat at the drawing-room window with Claude and Lilias, lamenting her cousin’s bad habits.  ’Nothing will ever make him punctual,’ said she.

‘I am in duty bound to let you say nothing against him,’ said Claude.

‘It is very good-natured in him to wait for you,’ said Lily, ’but it would be horribly selfish to leave you behind.’

‘Delay is his great horror,’ said Claude, ’and the wonder of his character is, that he is not selfish.  No one had ever better training for it.’

‘He does like his own way very much,’ said Lilias.

‘Who does not?’ said Claude.

‘Nothing shows his sense so much,’ said Emily, ’as his great attachment to papa—­the only person who ever controlled him.’

‘And to Claude—­his opposite in everything,’ said Lilias.

‘I think he will tire you to death in Germany,’ said Emily.

‘Never fear,’ said Claude, ’my vis inertiae is enough to counterbalance any amount of restlessness.’

‘Here they come,’ said Lily; ’how Wat Greenwood is grinning at Rotherwood’s jokes!’

‘A happy day for Wat,’ said Emily.  ’He will be quite dejected if William is not at home next shooting season.  He thinks you a degenerate Mohun, Claude.’

‘He must comfort himself with Redgie,’ said Claude.

’Rotherwood is only eager about shooting in common with everything else,’ said Lily, ‘but Redgie, I fear, will care for nothing else.’

Lord Rotherwood came in, accounting for being late, as, in passing through a harvest field, he could not help attempting to reap.  The Beechcroft farming operations had been his especial amusement from very early days, and his plans were numerous for farming on a grand scale as soon as he should be of age.  His talk during dinner was of turnips and wheat, till at length Mr. Mohun asked him what he thought of the appearance of the castle.  He said it was very forlorn; the rooms looked so dreary and deserted