And society speculated little about her.

Sometimes, when the Castle was full of guests, Mrs.
Bruce appeared among them, still in her widow's weeds, to be received by Lord Cairnforth with marked attention and respect--always called "my cousin," and whoever was present, invariably requested to take the head of his table; but, except at these occasional seasons, and at birthdays, new years, and so on, Helen was seldom seen out of the Manse, and was very little known to the earl's ordinary acquaintance.
But every body in the whole peninsula knew the minister's grandson, young Master Bruce.

The boy was tall of his age--not exactly handsome, being too like his mother for that; nevertheless, the robustness of form, which in her was too large for comeliness, became in him only manly size and strength.

He was athletic, graceful, and active; he learned to ride almost as soon as he could walk; and, under Malcolm's charge, was early initiated in all the mysteries of moor and loch.

By fourteen years of age Cardross Bruce was the best shot, the best fisher, the best hand at an oar, of all the young lads in the neighborhood.
Then, too, though allowed to run rather wild, he was unmistakably a gentleman.