And whether she had guests, or
whether she had not, what difference could it really make? Mr. Andrew
Gowran had already seen what there was to see, and could do all the evil
that could be done. He could, if he were so minded, spread reports in the
neighbourhood, and might, perhaps, have the power of communicating what he
had discovered to the Eustace faction, John Eustace, Mr. Camperdown, and
Lord Fawn. That evil, if it were an evil, must be encountered with
absolute indifference. So he went direct to the castle, and was received
quietly, but very graciously, by his cousin Lizzie.
There were no guests then staying at Portray; but that very distinguished
lady, Mrs. Carbuncle, with her niece, Miss Roanoke, had been there; as had
also that very well-known nobleman, Lord George de Bruce Carruthers. Lord
George and Mrs. Carbuncle were in the habit of seeing a good deal of each
other, though, as all the world knew, there was nothing between them but
the simplest friendship. And Sir Griffin Tewett had also been there, a
young baronet who was supposed to be enamoured of that most gorgeous of
beauties, Lucinda Roanoke. Of all these grand friends--friends with whom
Lizzie had become acquainted in London--nothing further need be said here,
as they were not at the castle when Frank arrived.
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