The Parliamentary Novels - v. 8 Author:Anthony Trollope Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER XLI. LIKEWISE THE BEARS IN COUPLES AGREE. Frank Greystock stayed till the following Monday at Portray, but could not be induced to hunt on the Satu... more »rday, on which day the other sporting men and women went to the meet. He could not, he said, trust to that traitor MacFarlane, and he feared that his friend Mr. Nappie would not give him another mount on the gray horse. Lizzie offered him one of her two darlings, an offer which he, of course, refused ; and Lord George also proposed to put him up. But Frank averred that he had ridden his hunt for that season, and would not jeopardise the laurels he had gained. " And moreover," said he, " I should not dare to meet Mr. Nappie in the field." So he remained at the castle and took a walk with Mr. Mealyus. Mr. Mealyus asked a good many questions about Portray, and exhibited the warmest sympathy with Lizzie's widowed condition. He called her a " sweet, gay, unsophisticated, light-hearted young thing." " She is very young," replied her cousin. " Yes," he continued, in answer to further questions ; " Portray is certainly very nice. I don't know what the income is. Well, yes. I should think it is over a thousand. Eight! No, I never heard it said that it was as much as that." When Mr. Mealyus put it down in his mindas five, he was not void of acuteness, as very little information had been given to him. There was a joke throughout the castle that Mr. Mealyus had fallen in love with Miss Macnulty. They had been a great deal together on those hunting days; and Miss Macnulty was unusually enthusiastic in praise of his manner and conversation. To her, also, had been addressed questions as to Portray and its income, all of which she had answered to the best of her ability ; not intending to betray any secret, for she had no secret to ...« less