Such were the acquirements, such
the charms, that she loved. Here was a young man who dared to
speak, and had always something ready to be spoken, who was not
afraid of beauty, nor daunted by superiority of rank; who, if he
had not money, could carry himself on equal terms among those who
had. In this way he won the Duchess's heart, and having done that,
was it odd that he should win the heart of her daughter also?
His father was a Cornwall squire of comfortable means, having
joined the property of his wife to his own for the period of his
own life. She had possessed land also in Cornwall, supposed to be
worth fifteen hundred a year, and his own paternal estate at
Polwenning was said to be double the value. Being a prudent man,
he lived at home as a country gentleman, and thus was able in his
county to hold his head as high as richer men. But Frank Tregear
was only his second son; and though Frank would hereafter inherit
his mother's fortune, he was by no means now in a position to
assume the right of living as an idle man. Yet he was idle.
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