His father had been very kind to him,
but he, too, had been eloquent;--and had, as is often the case with
orators, been apparently more moved by his own words than by those
of his adversary. If he had not absolutely declared himself as
irrevocably hostile to Miss Boncassen he had not said a word that
might be supposed to give a token of assent.
Silverbridge, therefore, was moody, contemplative, and desirous of
solitude. Nothing that the Duke had said had shaken him. He was
still sure of his pearl, and quite determined that he would wear
it. Various thoughts were running through his brain. What if he
were to abdicate the title and become a republican? He was
inclined to think that he could not abdicate, but he was quite
sure that no one could prevent him from going to America and
calling himself Mr Palliser. That his father would forgive him and
accept his daughter-in-law brought to him, were he in the first
place to marry without sanction, he felt quite sure. What was
there that his father would not forgive? But then Isabel would
not assent to this.
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