Chapter 22
In which Bradshaw finds himself tempted to do wrong to do right, is humbled by Donne's languid high-bred manner and hopes to impress him with the purchase of the exorbitantly dear Eagle's Crag.
Jemima is tempted by the holiday in Abermouth but not ready to leave Farquhar - especially not if would mean Ruth must stay in Eccleston. Ruth decides to go to make amends for the walk which made Elizabeth ill but finds it hard to leave Leonard behind.
Jemima enjoys managing the extensive re-modelling of the Eccleston house to meet the needs of the election campaign. Mr Pilson, the Parliamentary Agent we met in Chapter 21 ("whose only principle was to do wrong on the liberal side") does not appear in person but pulls the strings from London. He sends his friend Hickson to prepare the way for Donne, the candidate. Hickson is a briefless barrister who detests the corruptness of the law and feels it is his holy duty to use men's weaknesses to reform it, through bribery.
This troubles the Eccleston contingent and Benson proclaims that "We are not to do evil that good may come". Jemima is disappointed when Farquhar seems to come down on the side of expediency over principle. Benson falls silent when Farquhar asks him whether it is always possible to live according to religious principles, reflecting that he too has done good by doing wrong when he lied to protect Ruth. Bradshaw, who habitually treats Benson with condescending indulgence, is surprised when Hickson seems to defer to Benson, not realising that this is part of a cynical information gathering exercise for Donne's campaign.
Ruth misses Leonard but enjoys the seaside stay. Elisabeth's health improves by the day and there are delightful rambles and thrilling views of vivid storms. The girls hope that their father might buy the house, then Ruth gets a letter instructing her to prepare for a visit from Bradshaw, Donne and Hickson.
There are multiple reasons for Bradshaw's visit. He knows that Benson is to preach a sermon on probity in politics, and remembers that Benson has several times convinced him of things which he could never do again without great uneasiness of mind, and hence left off doing even though it was against his own interests. He cannot countenance the humiliation of losing the election and has reluctantly recognised that "packets" will be required, though he is to remain ignorant of their purpose. So a Sunday trip to Abermouth will sidestep the sermon and also a minor domestic dilemma. Bradshaw has ostentatiously honoured the Sabbath with a rule of no cooked dinner on Sundays, but suspects this will not impress his guests.
Bradshaw, used to being at the top of Eccleston society, has been somewhat humbled by the quiet but incontestable difference of rank and standards between Donne and his family. The nonchalant bringing of a servant, the quiet being at ease, the habitual attention to women, the measured graceful utterance, all show Bradshaw the gulf between his family and his guest, and he abandons his previous hope of a match between Donne and Jemima. While he is charmed by Donne's languid, high-bred manner, Jemima observes an underlying determination and focus and thinks that though he seems so gentle, he would be headstrong in carrying out his own will. Mrs Bradshaw is uncomfortable with this conversation and only observes that he has a look of Leonard about him.
Donne is so used to luxury and refinement that he is unimpressed by the finest that the Bradshaws can offer, asking "with quiet surprise, if they had no pinery, as if to be without a pinery were indeed a depth of pitiable destitution". Bradshaw hopes that his plan to buy the property in Abermouth for the fancy price of fourteen thousand pounds, just because his little girls had taken a fancy to it, will open those half shut dreamy eyes wide and Donne will recognise that the Eccleston manufacturer is as wealthy as he is.