She perceived, what her
father had failed to perceive, that His Highness had assumed an
attitude of reserve merely to hide the secret distraction and dismay
which consumed him. She saw that the poor fellow had no settled
plan in his head, and that he was troubled by something which, so
far, he had confided to nobody. It came to her knowledge that each
morning he walked to and fro on the Victoria Embankment, alone,
and apparently with no object. On the third morning she decided
that driving exercise on the Embankment would be good for her
health, and thereupon ordered a carriage and issued forth, arrayed
in a miraculous putty-coloured gown. Near Blackfriars Bridge she
met the Prince, and the carriage was drawn up by the pavement.
'Good morning, Prince,' she greeted him. 'Are you mistaking this
for Hyde Park?'
He bowed and smiled.
'I usually walk here in the mornings,' he said.
'You surprise me,' she returned. 'I thought I was the only person in
London who preferred the Embankment, with this view of the
river, to the dustiness of Hyde Park. I can't imagine how it is that
London will never take exercise anywhere except in that ridiculous
Park. Now, if they had Central Park - '
'I think the Embankment is the finest spot in all London,' he said.
She leaned a little out of the landau, bringing her face nearer to
his.
'I do believe we are kindred spirits, you and I,' she murmured; and
then, 'Au revoir, Prince!'
'One moment, Miss Racksole.
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