And now, on receiving Will's letter, Mr. Casaubon had to consider his

duty. He would never have been easy to call his action anything else

than duty; but in this case, contending motives thrust him back into

negations.

Should he apply directly to Mr. Brooke, and demand of that troublesome

gentleman to revoke his proposal? Or should he consult Sir James

Chettam, and get him to concur in remonstrance against a step which

touched the whole family? In either case Mr. Casaubon was aware that

failure was just as probable as success. It was impossible for him to

mention Dorothea's name in the matter, and without some alarming

urgency Mr. Brooke was as likely as not, after meeting all

representations with apparent assent, to wind up by saying, "Never

fear, Casaubon! Depend upon it, young Ladislaw will do you credit.

Depend upon it, I have put my finger on the right thing." And Mr.

Casaubon shrank nervously from communicating on the subject with Sir

James Chettam, between whom and himself there had never been any

cordiality, and who would immediately think of Dorothea without any

mention of her.

Poor Mr. Casaubon was distrustful of everybody's feeling towards him,

especially as a husband. To let any one suppose that he was jealous

would be to admit their (suspected) view of his disadvantages: to let

them know that he did not find marriage particularly blissful would

imply his conversion to their (probably) earlier disapproval. It would

be as bad as letting Carp, and Brasenose generally, know how backward

he was in organizing the matter for his "Key to all Mythologies." All

through his life Mr. Casaubon had been trying not to admit even to

himself the inward sores of self-doubt and jealousy. And on the most

delicate of all personal subjects, the habit of proud suspicious

reticence told doubly.

Thus Mr. Casaubon remained proudly, bitterly silent. But he had

forbidden Will to come to Lowick Manor, and he was mentally preparing

other measures of frustration.




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