Dr Thorne - Anthony Trollope [134]
‘Now, gentlemen,’ said Mr Fothergill, cheerily, ‘we are all right. Apjohn, is there claret there? Mr Bolus, I know you stick to the Madeira; you are quite right, for there isn’t much of it left, and my belief is there’ll never be more like it.’
And so the duke’s hospitality went on, and the duke’s guests drank merrily for the next two hours.
‘Shan’t we see any more of him?’ asked Frank.
‘Any more of whom?’ said Mr Athill.
‘Of the duke?’
‘Oh, no; you’ll see no more of him. He always goes when the coffee comes. It’s brought in as an excuse. We’ve had enough of the light of his countenance to last till next year. The duke and I are excellent friends; have been so these fifteen years; but I never see more of him than that.’
‘I shall go away,’ said Frank.
‘Nonsense. Mr de Courcy and your other friend won’t stir for this hour yet.’
‘I don’t care. I shall walk on, and they may catch me. I may be wrong; but it seems to me that a man insults me when he asks me to dine with him and never speaks to me. I don’t care if he be ten times Duke of Omnium; he can’t be more than a gentleman, and as such I am his equal.’ And then, having thus given vent to his feelings in somewhat high-flown language, he walked forth and trudged away along the road towards Courcy.
Frank Gresham had been born and bred a Conservative, whereas the Duke of Omnium was well known as a consistent Whig. There is no one so devoutly resolved to admit of no superior as your Conservative, born and bred, no one so inclined to high domestic despotism as your thoroughgoing consistent old Whig.
When he had proceeded about six miles, Frank was picked up by his friends; but even then his anger had hardly cooled.
‘Was the duke as civil as ever when you took your leave of him?’ said he to his cousin George, as he took his seat on the drag.
‘The juke has jeuced jude wine – lem me tell you that, old fella,’ hiccuped out the Honourable George, as he touched up the leader under the flank.
CHAPTER XX
The Proposal
AND now the departures from Courcy Castle came rapidly one after another, and there remained but one more evening before Miss Dunstable’s carriage was to be packed. The countess, in the early moments of Frank’s courtship, had controlled his ardour and checked the rapidity of his amorous professions; but as days, and at last weeks, wore away, she found that it was necessary to stir the fire which she had before endeavoured to slacken.
‘There will be nobody here tonight but our own circle,’ said she to him, ‘and I really think you should tell Miss Dunstable what your intentions are. She will have fair ground to complain of you if you do not.’
Frank began to feel that he was in a dilemma. He had commenced making love to Miss Dunstable partly because he liked the amusement, and partly from a satirical propensity to quiz his aunt by appearing to fall into her scheme. But he had overshot the mark, and did not know what answer to give when he was thus called upon to make a downright proposal. And then, although he did not care two rushes about Miss Dunstable in the way of love, he nevertheless experienced a sort of jealousy when he found that she appeared to be indifferent to him, and that she corresponded the meanwhile with his cousin George. Though all their flirtations had been carried on on both sides palpably by way of fun, though Frank had told himself ten times a day that his heart was true to Mary Thorne, yet he had an undefined feeling that it behoved Miss Dunstable to be a little