barring a few banks of clouds , penned up against the slopes , the weather held clear and not windy , good flying , and there was an extraordinary relief in being once again in company : lily on point , with temeraire bringing up the rear and nitidus and dulcia flying in wing positions , so their shadows falling on the ground below made the points of a diamond , skimming over the vineyard rows below in neat perforated lines of red and brown , past their first autumnal splendor .