Page 487 - bleak-house

on’
‘This has caused him, Esther—‘
‘Caused whom, my dear?’
‘Oh, you tiresome thing!’ said Caddy, laughing, with her
pretty face on fire. ‘My darling child, if you insist upon it!
This has caused him weeks of uneasiness and has made him
delay, from day to day, in a very anxious manner. At last
he said to me, ‘Caddy, if Miss Summerson, who is a great
favourite with my father, could be prevailed upon to be
present when I broke the subject, I think I could do it.’ So
I promised I would ask you. And I made up my mind, be-
sides,’ said Caddy, looking at me hopefully but timidly, ‘that
if you consented, I would ask you afterwards to come with
me to Ma. This is what I meant when I said in my note that I
had a great favour and a great assistance to beg of you. And
if you thought you could grant it, Esther, we should both be
very grateful.’
‘Let me see, Caddy,’ said I, pretending to consider. ‘Re-
ally, I think I could do a greater thing than that if the need
were pressing. I am at your service and the darling child’s,
my dear, whenever you like.’
Caddy was quite transported by this reply of mine, being,
I believe, as susceptible to the least kindness or encourage-
ment as any tender heart that ever beat in this world; and
after another turn or two round the garden, during which
she put on an entirely new pair of gloves and made herself
as resplendent as possible that she might do no avoidable
discredit to the Master of Deportment, we went to Newman
Street direct.

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