Fred’s mind, on the other hand, was busy with an anxiety which even his ready hopefulness could not immediately quell.  He saw no way of eluding Featherstone’s stupid demand without incurring consequences which he liked less even than the task of fulfilling it.  His father was already out of humor with him, and would be still more so if he were the occasion of any additional coolness between his own family and the Bulstrodes.  Then, he himself hated having to go and speak to his uncle Bulstrode, and perhaps after drinking wine he had said many foolish things about Featherstone’s property, and these had been magnified by report.  Fred felt that he made a wretched figure as a fellow who bragged about expectations from a queer old miser like Featherstone, and went to beg for certificates at his bidding.  But—­those expectations!  He really had them, and he saw no agreeable alternative if he gave them up; besides, he had lately made a debt which galled him extremely, and old Featherstone had almost bargained to pay it off.  The whole affair was miserably small:  his debts were small, even his expectations were not anything so very magnificent.  Fred had known men to whom he would have been ashamed of confessing the smallness of his scrapes.  Such ruminations naturally produced a streak of misanthropic bitterness.  To be born the son of a Middlemarch manufacturer, and inevitable heir to nothing in particular, while such men as Mainwaring and Vyan—­certainly life was a poor business, when a spirited young fellow, with a good appetite for the best of everything, had so poor an outlook.

It had not occurred to Fred that the introduction of Bulstrode’s name in the matter was a fiction of old Featherstone’s; nor could this have made any difference to his position.  He saw plainly enough that the old man wanted to exercise his power by tormenting him a little, and also probably to get some satisfaction out of seeing him on unpleasant terms with Bulstrode.  Fred fancied that he saw to the bottom of his uncle Featherstone’s soul, though in reality half what he saw there was no more than the reflex of his own inclinations.  The difficult task of knowing another soul is not for young gentlemen whose consciousness is chiefly made up of their own wishes.

Fred’s main point of debate with himself was, whether he should tell his father, or try to get through the affair without his father’s knowledge.  It was probably Mrs. Waule who had been talking about him; and if Mary Garth had repeated Mrs. Waule’s report to Rosamond, it would be sure to reach his father, who would as surely question him about it.  He said to Rosamond, as they slackened their pace—­

“Rosy, did Mary tell you that Mrs. Waule had said anything about me?”

“Yes, indeed, she did.”

“What?”

“That you were very unsteady.”

“Was that all?”

“I should think that was enough, Fred.”

“You are sure she said no more?”