England -- Fiction; Love stories; Male friendship -- Fiction; Quakers -- Fiction; Social classes -- Fiction
"I ain't well enough to talk business, and I won't do it. Mr. Roberts
will be here to-morrow, and you can see him."
Mr. Roberts was a man of business, or agent to the property, who
lived at Shrewsbury, and whom Mr. Greenwood especially disliked.
Mr. Greenwood being a clergyman was, of course, supposed to be a
gentleman, and regarded Mr. Roberts as being much beneath himself. It
was not customary for Mr. Roberts to dine at the house, and he was
therefore regarded by the chaplain as being hardly more than an upper
servant. It was therefore very grievous to him to be told that he
must discuss his own private affairs and make his renewed request as
to the living through Mr. Roberts. It was evidently intended that
he should have no opportunity of discussing his private affairs.
Whatever the Marquis might offer him he must take; and that, as far
as he could see, without any power of redress on his side. If Mr.
Roberts were to offer him a thousand pounds, he could only accept the
cheque and depart with it from Trafford Park, shaking off from his
feet the dust which such ingratitude would forbid him to carry with
him.
He was in the habit of walking daily for an hour before sunset,
moving very slowly up and down the driest of the roads near the
house, generally with his hands clasped behind his back, believing
that in doing so he was consulting his health, and maintaining that
bodily vigour which might be necessary to him for the performance
of the parochial duties at Appleslocombe. Now when he had left the
bed-room of the Marquis he went out of the front door, and proceeded
on his walk at a somewhat quicker pace than usual. He was full of
wrath, and his passion gave some alacrity to his movements. He was
of course incensed against the Marquis; but his anger burnt hottest
against Lord Hampstead. In this he was altogether unreasonable, for
Lord Hampstead had said nothing and done nothing that could injure
his position. Lord Hampstead disliked him and, perhaps, despised
him, but had been anxious that the Marquis should be liberal in the
mode of severing a connection which had lasted so long. But to Mr.
Greenwood himself it was manifest that all his troubles came from the
iniquities of his patron's two elder children; and he remembered at
every moment that Lord Hampstead had insulted him when they were both
together. He was certainly not a man to forgive an enemy, or to lose
any opportunity for revenge which might come in his way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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