Tightly braided plaits covered the whole of her head, pinned together neatly to make a strong foundation for her hat. Of a glorious copper hue, they shone in the light of the leaping flames, glittering almost as if they were alive.
“There, that’s better,” the Countess said. “I have a headache, of course, but that will pass. I am fortunate it is nothing worse. But always I am very angry with myself when I fall. It’s not only the hurt, it’s because I miss so much of the hunt.”
She saw Gisela’s face as she spoke and added,
“And I have made you, also, miss a good run. I am so sorry. It’s selfish of me, and I can only say, thank you for being a Good Samaritan.”
“I was glad I could help,” Gisela said.
“Why do you not go now?” the Countess enquired. “They will not have gone so very far away.
