He is." And the Duke looked at his friend as if he would have said, "If I, a real, palpable, tangible, hereditary duke, do not know a gentleman when I see one, what can _you_ possibly know about it, I would like to inquire ?" And that settled the matter.
But Mr.Barker was uneasy in his mind.

An idea was at work there which was diametrically opposed to the union of Claudius and Margaret, and day by day, as he watched the intimacy growing back into its old proportions, he ground his gold-filled teeth with increasing annoyance.
He sought opportunities for saying and doing things that might curtail the length of those hours when Claudius sat at her side, ostensibly reading.

Ostensibly?
Yes--the first day or two after she had allowed him to come back to her side were days of unexampled industry and severe routine, only the most pertinent criticisms interrupting from time to time the even progress from line to line, from page to page, from paragraph to paragraph, from chapter to chapter.

But soon the criticism became less close, the illustration more copious, the tongue more eloquent, and the glance less shy.

The elective strength of their two hearts rose up and wrought mightily, saying, "We are made for each other, we understand each other, and these foolish mortals who carry us about in their bosoms shall not keep us apart." And to tell the truth, the foolish mortals made very little effort.