He would at any rate hide nothing from the laird, he should know all; and really he thought he ought to be very grateful that the "all" was so much better than might have been.
The laird was not glad.

A son brought down to eat the husk of evil ways, poor, sick, suppliant, would have found a far readier welcome.
He would gladly have gone to meet Colin, even while he was yet a great way off, only he wanted Colin to be weary and footsore and utterly dependent on his love.

He heard with a grim silence Tallisker's description of the house in Regent's Place, with its flowers and books, its statues, pictures, and conservatory.

When Tallisker told him of the condition of the Crawfords in Canada, he was greatly moved.
He was interested and pleased with the Texan struggle.

He knew nothing of Texas, had never heard of the country, but Mexicans, Spaniards, and the Inquisition were one in his mind.
"That at least was Crawford-like," he said warmly, when told of Colin's part in the struggle.
But the subsequent settlement of the clan there hurt him terribly.