Dignity and Depravity

Chapter XXI

Thomas Archer had rarely felt such discomfiture than he did this very morning.

He had never intended to encroach upon a private conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Dyer, let alone one that was so impassioned. Only a portion of the conversation had been overhead, but Mr. Archer was not so naive as to believe that it could be ignored. Therein lay the start of a serious discord and it troubled Thomas to see it. Furthermore, he surmised that the issue must have been consequential indeed to have cause such a flare in tempers on both sides. The spirited words had carried from the dining room into the hallway, halting Thomas in his steps briefly.

Thomas had paused to evaluated the noises within the dining room, as well as his own internal resolution. He did not want to bring shame to either party but intruding yet he could not ignore the possibility of entering as a mediator. Perhaps having an additional presence in the room would calm the couple and make them see reason. Should that not be the case, Thomas felt he could remind them of the imprudence in having such a heated conversation within earshot of the servants. Even a trusted household could be prone to discourteous chattering when given the opportunity.

This mental assessment had been done in only a fraction of a moment, however, as Thomas' morning had left him fair gutfounded and he had been hastening so quickly to remedy his long stomach that he had already found himself too close. To any outside witness, he would have appeared to have driven himself straight forward into the treacherous distracted division. Thomas' sure footfall had caused one of the floorboards to emit a most querulous whimper. At once, Mrs. Dyer's keen eyes had flicked in his direction and registered his presence and its implications. What she must think of me, Thomas thought, a clumsy fool who does not know when to retreat!

Mrs. Dyer's quickly veiled the pain in her expression and had delicately and deliberately left the room with such avidity that Thomas had barely registered the words he has stammered in an effort to be polite. Thomas inwardly cursed himself and his appetite, feeling positively dastardly for his blunder. Archer, you nincompoop! he thought as he bunched his hands into fists at his sides. He would have abandoned any further opportunity for bodily nourishment if it mean he could reverse Mrs. Dyer's chagrin.

Discomposure aside, a deep well of tortuous emotion was rising within Thomas urging him to take one of two immediate immediate pathways. His first inclination was to pursue Mrs. Dyer to provide her with quiet assurances, however imprudent that may be. He was truly shaken in seeing her so visibly disquieted as he had come to ardently admire her calm and soothing nature. Fortuitously, Thomas had not completely forsaken his wits and was able to discern that giving in into such a wanton display of temerity would be an egregious error indeed. Thomas, therefore, astutely remained planted on the spot and redirected his internal guide towards his secondary course: soothing the ruffled feathers of his relation.

In this regard, Thomas felt adequately equipped. During his brief stay at Eagleton, he had spent many an hour in his cousin's presence and had discussed many of Dyer's predilections. Additionally, John's newest trend at expostulation at the dinner table had solidified Thomas' understanding of his position. However, it still remained unclear if Dyer was aware of the effect he was having on his wife's disposition in being so staunch in his views.

Thomas knew that his own tender regard for Mrs. Dyer had made him overly sensible to her changes in countenance. In fact he was so alert to her that Thomas did not even need to look in her direction to feel her presence and how it weighed on his soul. Thomas had felt each of Dyer's indiscretions as deeply as if they had been aimed toward him. He could still feel the sting of Mrs. Dyer's abrupt departure where it clenched his guts uncomfortably, causing him to feel utterly vexed with Dyer who was sitting at the table with a newspaper in one hand and his other absentmindedly fingering the handle of his cup. Yet, this was an unjustifiable bias and Thomas shook his head imperceptibly as if he could physically release his anger and then resolved to approach his cousin with only the most logical and forthcoming honesty.