Sentence:  Afraid at one and the same time that his work might be turned down - which would be a blow to his pride even though no one knew he was the author - and that the work would be accepted , and then that his violent feelings in the matter would certainly betray how deeply concerned he <WSD>was</WSD> in spite of himself . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)