Page:Maud Howe - A Newport Aquarelle.djvu/28

 shall most certainly join the hunt this afternoon. Do the men wear the pink?"

"Yes; most of them. It makes the spectacle so much gayer, and the pink coats set off the dark habits very prettily. They are not always becoming, but then one ought to be willing to sacrifice one's self to the general picturesqueness of the landscape."

Catching the last part of this sentence, Mrs. Fallow-Deer, who had been occupied in scanning with half-closed eyes the groups of people scattered about the lawn, broke into the conversation.

"Yes, it is a picturesque scene, is it not? But I want to present you, Mr. Larkington, to one of its most picturesque objects, Mrs. Belhomme. I am going to take you to a reception at her house this evening. I'll be back again, Gladys; keep my seat for me."

And the great woman sailed away on the arm of her new protégé. Poor little Mrs. Craig grew pale as the couple swept past her. Her only cavalier for the moment