'And now for the great point. Shall I proceed with my buildings? My own
personal convenience whispers no! But I have a strong conviction that
the advice is treasonable. What! the young Duke's folly for every gazer
in town and country to sneer at! Oh! my fathers, am I indeed your child,
or am I bastard? Never, never shall your shield be sullied while I bear
it! Never shall your proud banner veil while I am chieftain! They shall
be finished; certainly, they shall be finished, if I die an exile! There
can be no doubt about this; I feel the deep propriety.
'This girl, too, something must be done for her. I must get Squib to
run down to Brighton for me: and Afy, poor dear Afy, I think she will be
sorry when she hears it all!
'My head is weak: I want a counsellor. This man cannot enter into my
feelings. Then there is my family lawyer; if I ask him for advice, he
will ask me for instructions. Besides, this is not a matter of pounds,
shillings, and pence; it is an affair as much of sentiment as economy;
it involves the honour of my family, and I want one to unburden myself
to, who can sympathise with the tortured feelings of a noble, of a Duke
without a dukedom, for it has come to that.
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