I don't think Edward is marrying Kitty entirely for money. I think that, though he's not in love with her, he does care for her. Judith has once again taken over the reins of Collinwood, so Trask is no longer the threat that he was, even though it hasn't been demonstrated to Edward yet that Judith is no longer fooled by Trask. I think if Edward didn't care about Kitty, he wouldn't have been so ready to propose today. He thinks he's getting a two-fer: a charming woman and a lot of money. Of course, when he finds out that Kitty doesn't have a lot of money, he may find her a lot less charming, but Kitty is clever enough so that I think somehow she'll manage to pass that hurdle without ruining her marriage. I daresay for a while there will be a story about the not being able to get the money out of England, and by the time that story grows old, Kitty will have found a way to make the marriage work anyway.
Speaking of stories growing old...why shouldn't Barnabas use the same old story again and again? It works!
I felt almost as though I had seen dinner at Collinwood tonight. It was very clear in my mind: candles and crystal and white linen and mahogany, and everybody being effusively polite. But where were the Trasks? It's a good thing they weren't there; each of them would, in different ways, have damaged the tone of the occasion. But where were they?
