‘He may perhaps forget her,’ said the father to himself.

‘He thinks that I shall forget her,’ said Frank to himself at the same time; ‘but he does not know me.’

When Lady Arabella at last got hold of her son she found that the time for her preaching was utterly gone by.  He told her, almost with sang-froid, what his plans were; and when she came to understand them, and to understand also what had taken place at Boxall Hill, she could not blame the squire for what he had done.  She also said to herself, more confidently than the squire had done, that Frank would quite forget Mary before the year was out.  ‘Lord Buckish,’ said she to herself, rejoicingly, ’is now with the ambassador at Paris’—­Lord Buckish was her nephew—­’and with him Frank will meet women that are really beautiful—­women of fashion.  When with Lord Buckish he will soon forget Mary Thorne.’

But not on this account did she change her resolve to follow up to the furthest point her hostility to the Thornes.  She was fully enabled now to do so, for Dr Fillgrave was already reinstated at Greshamsbury as her medical adviser.

One other short visit did Frank pay to Boxall Hill, and one interview had he with Dr Thorne.  Mary told him all she knew of her own sad history, and was answered only by a kiss,—­a kiss absolutely not in any way by her to be avoided; the first, and only one, that had ever yet reached her lips from his.  And then he went away.

The doctor told him the full story.  ‘Yes,’ said Frank, ’I knew it all before.  Dear Mary, dearest Mary!  Don’t you, doctor, teach yourself to believe that I shall forget her.’  And then also he went his way from him—­went his way also from Greshamsbury, and was absent for the full period of the allotted banishment—­twelve months, namely, and a day.

CHAPTER XXXI

THE SMALL EDGE OF THE WEDGE

Frank Gresham was absent from Greshamsbury twelve months and a day:  a day is always added to the period of such absences, as shown in the history of Lord Bateman and other noble heroes.  We need not detail all the circumstances of his banishment, all the details of the compact that was made.  One detail of course was this, that there should be no corresponding; a point to which the squire found some difficulty in bringing his son to assent.

It must not be supposed that Mary Thorne or the doctor were in any way parties to, or privy to these agreements.  By no means.  The agreements were drawn out, and made, and signed, and sealed at Greshamsbury, and were known nowhere else.  The reader must not imagine that Lady Arabella was prepared to give up her son, if only his love could remain constant for one year.  Neither did Lady Arabella consent to any such arrangement, nor did the squire.  It was settled rather in this wise:  that Frank should be subjected to no torturing process, pestered to give no promises, should in no way be bullied about Mary—­that is, not at present—­if he would go away for a year.  Then, at the end of the year, the matter should again be discussed.  Agreeing to this, Frank took his departure, and was absent as per agreement.