In retrospect, Henry's words to Frankie in chapter 2 were deeply poignant--"My birthday gift is that she shall be an heiress...my fate is inconsequential...I was beginning to worry that I would ever see you again." It's remarkable that she could make him laugh at all!
I'm struck by the parallels between Frankie in chapter 18 of Mansfield Gothic and Henry now. She contemplated martyrdom, "dying for others who are blissfully ignorant of that sacrifice." These were people she had despised, but ultimately she surrendered herself and chose her attitude: "having realized at last that this is a battle that cannot be won by me, if I am to die for these people, let it be because I love them rather than I am not strong enough." Here, Henry is not strong enough to defeat Edmund--indeed, he can't defend himself at all--and must choose whether to die and suffer damnation to save this niece who he loves, who would never know or comprehend the magnitude of his sacrifice. And after all other recourses have seemingly failed, he has made his choice and his plans. Henry may not be Frankie's equal in training or spiritual knowledge or experience, but he is more than her equal in the area of sacrificial love.