Sir Oliver's exploits upon the seas had brought
him wealth, and with this wealth he was building up once more the
Tressilian sway in those parts, which Ralph Tressilian had so
outrageously diminished, so that he threatened to eclipse the
importance of the Killigrews of Arwenack.
Nevertheless, in the hour of reaction he did not go so far as to admit
that Sir Oliver Tressilian was a fit mate for Rosamund Godolphin. She
and her brother had been placed in his care by their late father, and
he had nobly discharged his tutelage until such time as Peter had come
to full age. His affection for Rosamund was tender as that of a lover,
but tempered by a feeling entirely paternal. He went very near to
worshipping her, and when all was said, when he had cleared his mind of
all dishonest bias, he still found overmuch to dislike in Oliver
Tressilian, and the notion of his becoming Rosamund's husband was
repellent.
First of all there was that bad Tressilian blood--notoriously bad, and
never more flagrantly displayed than in the case of the late Ralph
Tressilian. It wasimpossible that Oliver should have escaped the taint
of it; nor could Sir John perceive any signs that he had done so. He
displayed the traditional Tressilian turbulence. He was passionate and
brutal, and the pirate's trade to which he had now set his hand was of
all trades the one for which he was by nature best equipped. He was
harsh and overbearing, impatient of correction and prone to trample
other men's feelings underfoot.
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