as bound to be
her friend! If he could only do some great thing for her, and thus
satisfy his feeling of indebtedness towards her! But all the favours
had been from her to him and his.

CHAPTER XXIII

Frank Tregear Wants a Friend

Six or seven weeks had passed since Tregear had made his
communication to the Duke, and during that time he had heard not a
word about the girl he loved. He knew, indeed, that she was at The
Horns, and probably had reason to suppose that she was being guarded
there, as it were, out of his reach. This did not surprise him; nor
did he regard it as a hardship. It was to be expected that she should
be kept out of his sight. But this was a state of things to which,
as he thought, there should not be more than a moderate amount of
submission. Six weeks was not a very long period, but it was perhaps
long enough for evincing that respect which he owed to the young
lady's father. Something must be done some day. How could he expect
her to be true to him unless he took some means of showing himself to
be true to her?

In these days he did not live very much with her brother. He not only
disliked, but distrusted Major Tifto, and had so expressed himself as
to give rise to angry words. Silverbridge had said that he knew how
to take care of himself. Tregear had replied that he had his doubts
on that matter. Then the Member of Parliament had declared that at
any rate he did not intend to be taken care of by Frank Tregear! In
such a state of things it was not possible that there should be any
close confidence as to Lady Mary. Nor does it often come to pass that
the brother is the confidant of the sister's lover. Brothers hardly
like their sisters to have lovers, though they are often well
satisfied that their sisters should find husbands. Tregear's want of
rank and wealth added something to this feeling in the mind of this
brother; so that Silverbridge, though he felt himself to be deterred
by friendship from any open opposition, still was almost inimical.
"It won't do, you know," he had said to his brother Gerald, shaking
his head.

Tregear, however, was determined to be active in the matter, to make
some effort, to speak to somebody. But how to make an effort,--and
to whom should he speak? Thinking of all this he remembered that Mrs.
Finn had sent for him and had told him to go with his love story
to the Duke. She had been almost severe with him;--but after the
interview was over, he had fe