‘Then I think that Mr Reginald Dobbes must be all bosh himself.’

‘There was a man there named Tregear who had brought some books.’ 
 Then there was a pause.  Lady Mary had not a word to say.  ’Dobbes
used to declare that he was always pretending to read poetry.’

‘Mr Tregear never pretends anything.’

‘Do you know him?’ asked the rival.

‘He’s my brother’s most particular friend.’

’Ah! yes.  I dare say Silverbridge has talked to you about him.  I think he’s a stuck-up sort of fellow.’  To this there was not a word of reply.  ‘Where did your brother pick him up?’

‘They were at Oxford together.’

’I must say I think he gives himself airs;—­because, you know, he’s nobody.’

‘I don’t know anything of the kind,’ said Lady Mary, becoming very red.  ’And as he is my brother’s most particular friend,—­his very friend of friends,—­I think you had better not abuse him to me.’

‘I don’t think the Duke is very fond of him.’

’I don’t care who is fond of him.  I am very fond of Silverbridge, and I won’t hear his friend ill spoken of.  I dare say he had some books with him.  He is not at all the sort of man to go to a place and satisfy himself with doing nothing but killing animals.’

‘Do you know him, Lady Mary?’

’I have seen him, and of course I have heard a great deal of him from Silverbridge.  I would rather not talk any more about him.’

‘You seem to be very fond of Mr Tregear,’ he said angrily.

’It is no business of yours, Lord Popplecourt, whether I am fond of anybody or not.  I have told you that Mr Tregear is my brother’s friend, and that ought to be enough.’

Lord Popplecourt was a young man possessed of a certain amount of ingenuity.  It was said of him that he knew on which side his bread was buttered, and that if you wished to take him in you must get up early.  After dinner, and during the night he pondered a good deal on what he had heard.  Lady Cantrip had told him there had been a—­dream.  What was he to believe about that dream?  Had he not better avoid the error of putting too fine a point upon it, and tell himself at once that a dream in this instance meant a—­lover!  Lady Mary had already been troubled by a lover!  He was disposed to believe that young ladies often do have objectionable lovers, and that things get themselves right afterwards.  Young ladies can be made to understand the beauty of coal mines almost as readily as young gentlemen.  There would be the two hundred thousand pounds; and there was the girl, beautiful and well-born, and thoroughly well-mannered.  But what if this Tregear and the dream were one and the same?  If so, had he not received plenty of evidence that the dream had not yet passed away?  A remnant of affection for the dream would not have been a fatal barrier, had not the girl been so fierce with him in her defence of her dream.  He remembered too, what the Duke had said about Tregear, and Lady Cantrip’s advice to him to be silent in respect to this man.  And then do girls generally defend their brother’s friends as she had defended Tregear?  He thought not.  Putting all these things together on the following morning he came to an uncomfortable belief that Tregear was the dream.