, had it under their consideration.
Michael kept his room a good deal in these wretched days of winter,
so that Joseph had no difficulty in obtaining private interviews
with his daughter. Every such occasion he used assiduously, his
great end being to possess himself of Jane's confidence. He did not
succeed quite so well with the girl as with her grandfather; there
was always a reserve in her behaviour which as yet he found it
impossible to overcome. Observation led him to conclude that much of
this arose from the view she took of his relations with Sidney
Kirkwood. Jane was in love with Sidney; on that point he could have
no doubt; and in all likelihood she regarded him as unfriendly to
Sidney's suit--women are so shrewd in these affairs. Accordingly,
Joseph made it his business by artful degrees to remove this
prepossession from her mind. In the course of this endeavour he
naturally pressed into his service the gradually discovered fact
that Sidney had scruples of conscience regarding Jane's fortune.
Marvellous as it appeared to him, he had all but come to the
conclusion that this _was_ a fact. Now, given Jane's character,
which he believed he had sounded; given her love for Kirkwood, which
was obviously causing her anxiety and unhappiness; Joseph saw his
way to an admirable piece of strategy.
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