Poor Amy! There was something in that half-threat of Richard Tallant’s about giving her away which had set her thinking and preparing for such a contingency as a demand from her brother to be a wedding guest; and she knew that if he vowed to be there at the ceremony, there was no Ancient Mariner to take him by the button, and keep him away. She almost hated herself for saying a word in favour of one whose conduct ought to have placed him outside all decent society. “Don’t think of that, my dear girl,” said his lordship. “Lord Tufton will ‘give you away,’ as the service hath it, and I will be by your side.” “You are so kind and considerate,” said Amy. “You do not like me to thank you, and I will not; but supposing I had a brother worthy of being present, how nice it would have been: it will seem so very strange to have no one belonging to me at such a time. If Lieutenant Somerton had really been my brother.” “Yes, he is rather a fine fellow, the young officer, and I propose we invite him to be present.” Miss Tallant was pleased at this kindly recognition of her sometime brother Paul, and from that time she desisted further in her preliminary suggestions with regard to her real brother. Meanwhile the arrangements for the wedding went on, and hardly a day went by which did not bring some handsome present from Lord Verner. His lordship had been over to Paris specially to make a purchase of some famous court diamonds, which he had learnt were in the market. There was nothing too good nor too costly for this charming woman at Barton Hall. It was almost like buying the young lady to load her so with presents and compliments, and already all the people at Montem Castle were profoundly jealous of her. The housekeeper, the valet, the cook, the chaplain, even the vicar at Brazencrook, close by, were jealous of the coming queen. The Castle had been undergoing all sorts of alterations during the last few months. Painters and decorators, and upholsterers, and cabinet-makers, had swarmed in every part of it, and his lordship had looked into every nook and corner of the place himself. The gardeners had been compelled to seek assistance, and strange men from London, calling themselves florists, had been down, and planted all manner of strange-looking plants and shrubs. The whole place had been in a state of commotion, and his lordship had never been known to be so active, nor so well. When the vicar ventured, on the strength of old familiarity, to rally his lordship upon his improved health and spirits, the Earl laughed and chuckled, and said he had no time to be ill; he did not intend to be ill any more; he had wasted enough valuable time upon that hobby.