‘Mr Tregear has got in at Polpenno,’ she
said on the day on which she and the Duke had received
the letters.
‘So I hear from Silverbridge.’
‘It will be a good thing for him I suppose.’
‘I do not know,’ said the Duke coldly.
’He is my cousin, and I have always been interested
in his welfare.’
‘That is natural.’
‘And a seat in Parliament will give him something
to do.’
‘Certainly it ought,’ said the Duke.
‘I do not think he is an idle man.’
To this the Duke made no answer. He did not
wish to be made to talk about Tregear. ’May
I tell you why I say all this?’ she asked softly,
pressing her hand on the Duke’s arm every so
gently. To this the Duke assented, but still
coldly. ’Because I want to know what I ought
to do. Would you mind reading that letter?
Of course you will remember that Frank and I have
been brought up almost as brother and sister.’
The Duke took the letter in his hand and read it,
very slowly. ’What he says about young
men without means going into Parliament is true enough.’
This was not encouraging, but as the Duke went on
reading, Mabel did not think it necessary to argue
the matter. He had to read the last paragraph
twice before he understood it. He did read it
twice, and then folding the letter very slowly gave
it back to his companion.
‘What ought I to do?’ asked Lady Mabel.
’As you and I, my dear, are friends, I think
that any carrying of a message to Mary would be breaking
confidence. I think that you should not speak
to Mary about Mr Tregear.’ Then he changed
the subject. Lady Mabel of course understood
that after that she could not say a word to Mary about
the election at Polpenno.
The Meeting at The Bobtailed Fox
It was now the middle of December, and matters were
not comfortable in the Runnymede country. The
Major with much pluck had carried on his operations
in opposition to the wishes of the resident members
of the hunt. The owners of coverts had protested,
and farmers had sworn that he should not ride over
their lands. There had even been some talk among
the younger men of thrashing him if he persevered.
But he did persevere, and had managed to have one
or two good runs. Now it was the fortune of the
Runnymede hunt that many of those who rode with the
hounds were strangers to the country,—men
who came down by train from London, gentlemen perhaps
of no great distinction, who could ride hard, but as
to whom it was thought that as they did not provide
the land to ride over, or the fences to be destroyed,
or the coverts for the foxes, or the greater part
of the subscription, they ought not to oppose those
by whom all these things were supplied. But the
Major, knowing where his strength lay, had managed
to get a party to support him. The contract to
hunt the country had been made with him in last March,
and was good for one year. Having the kennels
and the hounds under his command he did hunt the country;
but he did so amidst a storm of contumely and ill
will.
