Busy weekend. Haven't had time to catch up with the discussion at the bottom but I agree that willoughby felt pretty sure of himself by what he said. My guess is that he was hedging his bets. I get the feeling he really didn't want to marry Sophia if he could get around it but he had her waiting in the wings so as not to leave her hanging out there for some other young man to come along and snatch her up. A dowry of fifty thousand must have made her a very eligible young lady. If he had Sophia thinking she was secretly engaged, he wouldn't have to worry about her while he was away. Just a thought.