Lethbury and his wife held their breath and
looked away from each other. They pretended not to notice the
frequency of Mr. Budd's visits, they struggled against an imprudent
inclination to leave the young people too much alone. Their
conclusions were the result of indirect observation, for neither of
them dared to be caught watching Mr. Budd: they behaved like
naturalists on the trail of a rare butterfly.
In his efforts not to notice Mr. Budd, Lethbury centred his
attentions on Jane; and Jane, at this crucial moment, wrung from him
a reluctant admiration. While her parents went about dissembling
their emotions, she seemed to have none to conceal. She betrayed
neither eagerness nor surprise; so complete was her unconcern that
there were moments when Lethbury feared it was obtuseness, when he
could hardly help whispering to her that now was the moment to lower
the net.
Meanwhile the velocity of Mr. Budd's gyrations increased with the
ardor of courtship: his politeness became incandescent, and Jane
found herself the centre of a pyrotechnical display culminating in
the "set piece" of an offer of marriage.
Mrs. Lethbury imparted the news to her husband one evening after
their daughter had gone to bed. The announcement was made and
received with an air of detachment, as though both feared to be
betrayed into unseemly exultation; but Lethbury, as his wife ended,
could not repress the inquiry, "Have they decided on a day?"
Mrs. Lethbury's superior command of her features enabled her to look
shocked.
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