???

the layers, the layers...

what was ellwood's intention here, exactly? what did he expect gaunt to say? 'oh, you're not really her type then, good - because i want you instead' ??

the mention of another prospect for maud might have been a way to test the waters, an obsessive checking as if asking ‘if it was up to your approval as the male brother of the girl, would you choose another? would you rather someone else to become part of your family instead of me? Do you even care?’ Marrying maud is the only way in which ellwood sees a way of securing gaunt’s permanence in his life, and it’s like he’s often pitching the idea, and bringing it up, preparing both gaunt and himself for the only future they can access, and also maybe hopelessly trying to force a jealous reaction from Henry (like that fight when gaunt broke his nose, but emotionally, yk?)

so an ideal answer from gaunt would have been him saying something like 'really? she liked cuthbert-smith?' with disgust, which ellwood would have read as an implied approval of him as the better suitor. and ellwood sneaking a compliment about gaunt in is so sweet too, because 'capital' sounds very slang, so he's basically saying gaunt is straight up hot via complimenting maud if so.

and YESSS, I was thinking exactly that, ellwood wished gaunt disapproved of cuthbert-smith, or anyone else for that matter, because then that meant that in some way (the only possible way), gaunt was choosing HIM!! In a very ellwood fashion, he was taking whatever he could. And the same goes with the compliments; Henry and maud are twins, flirting and complimenting his sister is just as close as he can get to telling gaunt to his face how pretty he thinks he is.

the layers, the layers...

what was ellwood's intention here, exactly? what did he expect gaunt to say? 'oh, you're not really her type then, good - because i want you instead' ??

the mention of another prospect for maud might have been a way to test the waters, an obsessive checking as if asking ‘if it was up to your approval as the male brother of the girl, would you choose another? would you rather someone else to become part of your family instead of me? Do you even care?’ Marrying maud is the only way in which ellwood sees a way of securing gaunt’s permanence in his life, and it’s like he’s often pitching the idea, and bringing it up, preparing both gaunt and himself for the only future they can access, and also maybe hopelessly trying to force a jealous reaction from Henry (like that fight when gaunt broke his nose, but emotionally, yk?)