nanswerable by Esther, and
the subject was dropped. Whether Esther pursued the search after
comfort, no one knew; indeed, no one knew she wanted it. The colonel
certainly not; he had taken her question to be merely a speculative
one. It did sometimes occur to Barker that her young charge moped; or,
as she expressed it to Mr. Bounder, 'didn't live as a child had a right
to;' but it was not her business, and she had spoken truly: her
business was the thing Mrs. Barker minded exclusively.

So Esther went on living alone, and working her way, as she could,
alone, out of all the problems that suggested themselves to her
childish mind. What sort of a character would grow up in this way, in
such a close mental atmosphere and such absence of all training or
guiding influences, was an interesting question, which, however, never
presented itself before Colonel Gainsborough's mind. That his child was
all right, he was sure; indeed how could she go wrong? She was her
mother's daughter, in the first place; and in the next place, his own;
_noblesse oblige_, in more ways than one; and then--she saw nobody!
That was a great safeguard. But the one person whom Esther did see, out
of her family, or I should say the two persons, sometimes speculated
about her; for to them the subject had a disagreeable practical
interest. Mr. Dallas came now and then to sit and have a chat with the
colonel; and more rarely Mrs. Dallas called for a civil visit of
enquiry; impelled thereto partly by her son's instances and reminders.
She communicated her views to her husband.

'She is living a dreadful life, for a child. She will be everything
that is unnatural and premature.'

Mr. Dallas made no answer.

'And I wish she was out of Seaforth; for as we cannot get rid of her,
we must send away our own boy.'

'Humph!' said her husband. 'Are you sure? Is that a certain necessity?'

'Hildebrand, you would like to have him finish his studies at Oxford?'
said his wife appealingly.

'Yes, to be sure; but what has that to do with the other thing? You
started from that little girl over there.'

'Do you want Pitt to make her his wife?'

'No!' with quiet decision.

'He'll do it; if you do not take all the better care.'

'I don't see that it follows.'

'You do not see it, Hildebrand, but I do. Trust me.'

'What do you reason from?'

'You won't trust me? Well, the girl will be very handsome; she'll be
_very_ handsome, and that always turns a young man's