But he must find out the history of it all.  No doubt the man had been his son’s friend, and had joined the party in Italy at his son’s instance.  But yet he had come to entertain the idea that Mrs Finn had been the great promoter of this sin, and he thought that Tregear had told him that that lady had been concerned with the matter from the beginning.  In all this there was a craving in his heart to lessen the amount of culpable responsibility which might seem to attach itself to the wife he had lost.

He reached Matching about eight, and ordered his dinner to be brought to him in his own study.  When Lady Mary came to welcome him, he kissed her forehead, and bade her to come to him after his dinner.  ’Shall I not sit with you, papa, whilst you are eating it?’ she asked; but he merely told her that he would not trouble her to do that.  Even in saying this, he was so unusually tender to her that she assured herself that her lover had not as yet told his tale.

The Duke’s meals were generally not feasts for a Lucullus.  No man living, perhaps, cared less what he ate, or knew less what he drank.  In such matters he took what was provided for him, making his dinner off the first bit of meat that was brought, and simply ignoring anything offered to him afterwards.  And he would drink what wine the servant gave him, mixing it, whatever it might be, with seltzer water.  He had never been given much the pleasures of the table; but this habit of simplicity had grown on him of late, till the Duchess used to tell him that his wants were so few that it was a pity he was not a hermit, vowed to poverty.

Very shortly a message was brought to Lady Mary, saying that her father wished to see her.  She went at once, and found him seated on a sofa, which stood close along the bookshelves on one side of the room.  The table had already been cleared, and he was alone.  He not only was alone, but had not even a pamphlet or newspaper in his hand.

Then she knew that Tregear must have told the story.  As this occurred to her, her legs almost gave way under her.  ’Come and sit down, Mary,’ he said, pointing to the seat on the sofa beside himself.

She sat down and took one of his hands within her own.  Then, as he did not begin at once, she asked a question.  ’Will Silverbridge stand for the county, papa?’

‘No, my dear.’

‘But for the town.’

‘Yes, my dear.’

‘And he won’t be a Liberal?’

’I am afraid not.  It is a cause of great unhappiness to me; but I do not know that I should be justified in any absolute opposition.  A man is entitled to his own opinion, even though he be a very young man.’

‘I am so sorry that it should be so, papa, because it vexes you.’

‘I have many things to vex me;—­things to break my heart.’

‘Poor mamma!’ she exclaimed.

’Yes; that above all others.  But life and death are in God’s hands, and even though we may complain we can alter nothing.  But whatever our sorrows are, while we are here we must do our duty.’