If I'm remembering correctly, when McKeag told Lisette about his love, he did not mention that this was Pasquinel's wife. Lisette learned this later. If McKeag had gotten there before Pasquinel died, it's very hard to say what would have happened. On the one hand, he desperately wanted to confess his feelings to Clay Basket, but he also wanted to patch things up with Pasquinel. He probably would have adopted the old relationship with them where he maintained a sort of platonic, almost courtly love with Clay Basket and a strong friendship with Pasquinel.
And yes, Pasquinel knew what McKeag felt for Clay Basket and suspected what Clay Basekt felt for McKeag. I don't think it bothered him overmuch so long as nothing happened between them. Remember that Pasquinel was not in love with Clay Basket; he had only married her to get the gold. In the book, Michener described him as a dutiful and affectionate father and husband.
McKeag did not confess his love in the beginning because Pasquinel scooped her up before he could get the nerve to say anything to Claybasket. Remember that he was shy and this was most likely a first love. Plus, her father was in favor of the match with Pasquinel and Clay Basket was an obedient daughter, so it all seemed like a done deal.
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crood
7 years ago
I think part of the problem is in casting a story that spans decades. Here you had a forty-something Richard Chamberlain playing a man in his twenties when he first met Clay Basket. His shyness and it being his first love is harder believe. It's usually easier to make a young man look old (Gregory Harrison was in his late twenties) than an older man look young.
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