Occasionally Mr. Corbet came down to see her. He always slept on these
occasions at Mr. Ness's; but he was at Ford Bank the greater part of the
one day between two nights that he allowed himself for the length of his
visits. And even these short peeps were not frequently taken. He was
working hard at law: fagging at it tooth and nail; arranging his whole
life so as best to promote the ends of his ambition; feeling a delight in
surpassing and mastering his fellows--those who started in the race at
the same time. He read Ellinor's letters over and over again; nothing
else beside law-books. He perceived the repressed love hidden away in
subdued expressions in her communications, with an amused pleasure at the
attempt at concealment. He was glad that her gaieties were not more gay;
he was glad that she was not too much admired, although a little
indignant at the want of taste on the part of the ---shire gentlemen. But
if other admirers had come prominently forward, he would have had to take
some more decided steps to assert his rights than he had hitherto done;
for he had caused Ellinor to express a wish to her father that her
engagement should not be too much talked about until nearer the time when
it would be prudent for him to marry her. He thought that the knowledge
of this, the only imprudently hasty step he ever meant to take in his
life, might go against his character for wisdom, if the fact became known
while he was as yet only a student.
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