The unopened letter

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

Edwin had read the notice outside the counting-house three times before he entered. The clerk took his name and told him to wait. Edwin sat on the edge of a wooden chair, turning his cap in his hands. When footsteps crossed the passage, he looked up; each time they went past. At last, the clerk returned with a sealed letter. Edwin held it without breaking the paper. His fingers had gone cold, though the room was warm.

Identify one phrase from the passage that shows Edwin’s anxiety while he waits.