Most of them had gone out riding or driving.

There was to be a grand ball that evening and her Grace of Hazlewood did not wish to fatigue herself before it came off.

As for driving or riding in the hot sun simply because the day was fine and the country fair, she did not believe in it.

She had retired to her drawing-room; a soft couch, had been placed near one of the open windows, and the breeze that came in was heavy with perfume.

On the stand by her side lay a richly-jeweled fan, a bottle of sweet scent, a bouquet of heliotrope--her favorite flower--and one or two books which she had selected to read.