render him more furious,
for he regarded it as a sort of outrage to Lady Morville's feelings
that a courtship should be carried on in the house with her. She was at
present the object of all his devoted affection for the family, and he
would not believe, but that she had been as much disappointed at the
birth of her daughter, as he was himself. He would not say one word
against Mr. Morville, but looked and growled enough to make Mr. Ashford
afraid that the new squire would find him very troublesome.

The Ashfords were in a state of mind themselves to think that Mr.
Morville ought to be everything excellent to make up for succeeding Sir
Guy; but having a very high opinion of him to begin with, they were very
sorry to find all Redclyffe set against him. In common with the parish,
they were very anxious for the first report of his arrival and at length
he came. James Thorndale, as before, drove him thither, coming to the
Ashfords while he was busy with Markham. He would not go up to the Park,
he only went through some necessary business with Markham, and then
walked down to the Cove, afterwards sitting for about ten minutes in
Mrs. Ashford's drawing-room.

The result of the visit was that old James Robinson reported that the
new squire took on as much about poor Sir Guy as any one could do, and
turned as pale as if he had been going into a swoon, when he spoke his
name and gave Ben his message. And as to poor Ben, the old man said, he
regularly did cry like a child, and small blame to him, to hear that
Sir Guy had took thought of him at such a time and so far away; and he
verily believed Ben could never take again to his bad ways, after such a
message as that.

Markham was gruff with the Robinsons for some time after and was even
heard to mutter something about worshipping the rising sun, an act of
idolatry of which he could not be accused, since it was in the most
grudging manner that he allowed, that Mr. Morville's sole anxiety seemed
to be to continue all Sir Guy had undertaken; while Mrs. Ashford, on the
other hand was much affected by the account her cousin James had been
giving her of the grief that he had suffered at Sir Guy's death, his
long illness, his loss of spirits, the reluctance he had shown to come
here at all, and his present unconquerable dread of going to the Park.

He was soon after in London, where, as far as could be judged in such
early days, he seemed likely to distinguish himself according to th