now he recognised that the young man was deeply attached to him, and believed that so long as his eye was upon him he would keep within bounds. But the limits of Eustace’s visit to Penarvon were drawing near, and he did not think, in face of what was occurring, that the Duke would press him to remain. He would leave, and then what would happen to that wild spirit? Already the farmer had threatened him with dismissal if he persisted in his obstinate courses, and tried to instil and introduce lawless opinions amongst his servants. Saul had not been daunted by that threat. It appeared that already he had made friends amongst kindred spirits in the town, and would find support and employment there if he chose to break away from his old associates. Eustace walked back to the castle in a state of mind that was by no means happy or satisfied. He had made a great step in Penarvon since his arrival; but was it altogether such a step as was wise or right? [Illustration] [Illustration] CHAPTER VIII _BRIDE’S PERPLEXITIES_ But if Eustace suffered from doubts and fears, even when embarked upon a cause which he fully believed to be that of right and justice, other people were not exempt from their share of perplexity and mental distress, and certainly the youthful Lady Bride was no exception to this rule. For her, things seemed to have come hardly. Just as she was deprived of the loving counsels and tender training of a mother whom she literally adored, was she confronted by problems and questions which had never entered into her inner life before, and which threatened at times to upheave many of her most cherished notions, or to land her in a perfect sea of doubt and bewilderment.