Quickly discerning that Lady Catherine’s character was one which responded to flattery, rather than making the daughter appear to be the chief object of his attraction, Sir William immediately turned his charming and complimentary nothings toward Lady Catherine with such success that she was soon simpering with delight at the attentions of this eligible paragon. Miss de Bourgh witnessed this shift in approach, but was neither offended nor alarmed; she had heard that Sir William was a great speculator in the shares and that his income was chiefly derived from such endeavours of chance. Anne reasoned it to be highly probable that Sir William chose to court her mother as the more promising source of additional funds. In truth, she regarded him with a good deal more interest than the other eligibles, for his active part in the unfolding charade, and the pleasure it afforded in watching the daily increase of his impositions upon her mother. She contented herself with observation: she was almost envious of the dexterity with which Sir William deflected Lady Catherine’s ever-impertinent questions in such a charming manner that the lady did not comprehend his own answers to be merely cleverly disguised echoes of her own recent opinions. Such a superior example of flattery to the clumsy, worn-out phrases of the other gentlemen! How much more accomplished the instructor, and how much better the lesson! Anne was mistress of herself enough to acknowledge that she could learn a great deal from such a teacher. In Sir William, she could see her own studied detachment masked in a far more attractive combination of civilities. As she watched her mother daily succumb ever more deeply to his arts, Anne could see that his own heart was unlikely to be touched; she saw him as a bird of her same feather, and could discern without any great study that his heart was callous, although his manners were captivating.