Just at present he was very well satisfied with the fact of his engagement,
believing that he had taken the best possible means for securing his future
happiness; an equable, quiet sort of happiness, of course--he was nearly
thirty, and had outlived the possibility of anything more than that. It
would have bored him to suppose that Geraldine expected more from him
than this tranquil kind of worship. Perhaps the lady understood this, and
schooled herself to a colder tone than was even natural to her, rather than
be supposed for one moment to be the more deeply attached of the two.
Thus it happened that Mr. Fairfax was not severely taxed in his capacity of
plighted lover. However exacting Lady Geraldine may have been by nature,
she was too proud to demand more exclusive attention than her betrothed
spontaneously rendered; indeed, she took pains to let him perceive that he
was still in full enjoyment of all his old bachelor liberty. So the days
drifted by very pleasantly, and George Fairfax found himself in Clarissa
Lovel's society perhaps a little oftener than was well for either of those
two.
He was very kind to her; he seemed to understand her better than other
people, she thought; and his companionship was more to her than that of
any one else--a most delightful relief after Captain Westleigh's incessant
frivolity, or Mr. Halkin's solemn small-talk. In comparison with these
men, he appeared to such wonderful advantage.
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