“Ididn’twanttocomehere，“hesaidatlast，“butIwaspositivelydriventoit……EvelynM。，“hegroaned。
　　Hesatup，andbegantoexplainwithmocksolemnityhowthedetestablewomanwassetuponmarryinghim。
　　“Shepursuesmeabouttheplace。Thismorningsheappearedinthesmoking-room。AllIcoulddowastoseizemyhatandfly。
　　Ididn’twanttocome，butIcouldn’tstayandfaceanothermealwithher。“
　　“Well，wemustmakethebestofit，“Helenrepliedphilosophically。
　　Itwasveryhot，andtheywereindifferenttoanyamountofsilence，sothattheylaybackintheirchairswaitingforsomethingtohappen。
　　Thebellrangforluncheon，buttherewasnosoundofmovementinthehouse。Wasthereanynews？Helenasked；anythinginthepapers？
　　St。Johnshookhishead。Oyes，hehadaletterfromhome，aletterfromhismother，describingthesuicideoftheparlour-maid。ShewascalledSusanJane，andshecameintothekitchenoneafternoon，andsaidthatshewantedcooktokeephermoneyforher；shehadtwentypoundsingold。Thenshewentouttobuyherselfahat。
　　Shecameinathalf-pastfiveandsaidthatshehadtakenpoison。
　　Theyhadonlyjusttimetogetherintobedandcalladoctorbeforeshedied。
　　“Well？“Helenenquired。
　　“There’llhavetobeaninquest，“saidSt。John。
　　Whyhadshedoneit？Heshruggedhisshoulders。Whydopeoplekillthemselves？Whydothelowerordersdoanyofthethingstheydodo？Nobodyknows。Theysatinsilence。
　　“Thebell’srunfifteenminutesandthey’renotdown，“saidHelenatlength。
　　Whentheyappeared，St。Johnexplainedwhyithadbeennecessaryforhimtocometoluncheon。HeimitatedEvelyn’senthusiastictoneassheconfrontedhiminthesmoking-room。“Shethinkstherecanbenothing_quite_sothrillingasmathematics，soI’velentheralargeworkintwovolumes。It’llbeinterestingtoseewhatshemakesofit。“
　　Rachelcouldnowaffordtolaughathim。SheremindedhimofGibbon；
　　shehadthefirstvolumesomewherestill；ifhewereundertakingtheeducationofEvelyn，thatsurelywasthetest；orshehadheardthatBurke，upontheAmericanRebellion——Evelynoughttoreadthembothsimultaneously。WhenSt。Johnhaddisposedofherargumentandhadsatisfiedhishunger，heproceededtotellthemthatthehotelwasseethingwithscandals，someofthemostappallingkind，whichhadhappenedintheirabsence；hewasindeedmuchgiventothestudyofhiskind。
　　“EvelynM。，forexample——butthatwastoldmeinconfidence。“
　　“Nonsense！“Terenceinterposed。
　　“You’veheardaboutpoorSinclair，too？“
　　“Oh，yes，I’veheardaboutSinclair。He’sretiredtohisminewitharevolver。HewritestoEvelyndailythathe’sthinkingofcommittingsuicide。I’veassuredherthathe’sneverbeensohappyinhislife，and，onthewhole，she’sinclinedtoagreewithme。“
　　“Butthenshe’sentangledherselfwithPerrott，“St。Johncontinued；
　　“andIhavereasontothink，fromsomethingIsawinthepassage，thateverythingisn’tasitshouldbebetweenArthurandSusan。
　　There’sayoungfemalelatelyarrivedfromManchester。Averygoodthingifitwerebrokenoff，inmyopinion。Theirmarriedlifeissomethingtoohorribletocontemplate。
　　Oh，andIdistinctlyheardoldMrs。PaleyrappingoutthemostfearfuloathsasIpassedherbedroomdoor。It’ssupposedthatshetortureshermaidinprivate——it’spracticallycertainshedoes。
　　Onecantellitfromthelookinhereyes。“
　　“Whenyou’reeightyandthegouttweezesyou，you’llbeswearinglikeatrooper，“Terenceremarked。“You’llbeveryfat，verytesty，verydisagreeable。Can’tyouimaginehim——baldasacoot，withapairofsponge-bagtrousers，alittlespottedtie，andacorporation？“
　　AfterapauseHirstremarkedthattheworstinfamyhadstilltobetold。HeaddressedhimselftoHelen。
　　“They’vehoofedouttheprostitute。OnenightwhilewewereawaythatoldnumskullThornburywasdodderingaboutthepassagesverylate。
　　Nobodyseemstohaveaskedhimwhat_he_wasupto。HesawtheSignoraLolaMendoza，asshecallsherself，crossthepassageinhernightgown。HecommunicatedhissuspicionsnextmorningtoElliot，withtheresultthatRodriguezwenttothewomanandgavehertwenty-fourhoursinwhichtoclearoutoftheplace。
　　Nooneseemstohaveenquiredintothetruthofthestory，ortohaveaskedThornburyandElliotwhatbusinessitwasoftheirs；
　　theyhaditentirelytheirownway。IproposethatweshouldallsignaRoundRobin，gotoRodriguezinabody，andinsistuponafullenquiry。Something’sgottobedone，don’tyouagree？“
　　Hewetremarkedthattherecouldbenodoubtastothelady’sprofession。
　　“Still，“headded，“it’sagreatshame，poorwoman；onlyIdon’tseewhat’stobedone——“
　　“Iquiteagreewithyou，St。John，“Helenburstout。“It’smonstrous。
　　ThehypocriticalsmugnessoftheEnglishmakesmybloodboil。
　　Amanwho’smadeafortuneintradeasMr。Thornburyhasisboundtobetwiceasbadasanyprostitute。“
　　SherespectedSt。John’smorality，whichshetookfarmoreseriouslythananyoneelsedid，andnowenteredintoadiscussionwithhimastothestepsthatweretobetakentoenforcetheirpeculiarviewofwhatwasright。Theargumentledtosomeprofoundlygloomystatementsofageneralnature。Whowerethey，afterall——
　　whatauthorityhadthey——whatpoweragainstthemassofsuperstitionandignorance？ItwastheEnglish，ofcourse；theremustbesomethingwrongintheEnglishblood。DirectlyyoumetanEnglishperson，ofthemiddleclasses，youwereconsciousofanindefinablesensationofloathing；directlyyousawthebrowncrescentofhousesaboveDover，thesamethingcameoveryou。ButunfortunatelySt。Johnadded，youcouldn’ttrusttheseforeigners——
　　Theywereinterruptedbysoundsofstrifeatthefurtherendofthetable。Rachelappealedtoheraunt。
　　“TerencesayswemustgototeawithMrs。Thornburybecauseshe’sbeensokind，butIdon’tseeit；infact，I’dratherhavemyrighthandsawninpieces——justimagine！theeyesofallthosewomen！“
　　“Fiddlesticks，Rachel，“Terencereplied。“Whowantstolookatyou？
　　You’reconsumedwithvanity！You’reamonsterofconceit！
　　Surely，Helen，yououghttohavetaughtherbythistimethatshe’sapersonofnoconceivableimportancewhatever——notbeautiful，orwelldressed，orconspicuousforeleganceorintellect，ordeportment。Amoreordinarysightthanyouare，“heconcluded，“exceptforthetearacrossyourdresshasneverbeenseen。
　　However，stayathomeifyouwantto。I’mgoing。“
　　Sheappealedagaintoheraunt。Itwasn’tthebeinglookedat，sheexplained，butthethingspeopleweresuretosay。Thewomeninparticular。
　　Shelikedwomen，butwhereemotionwasconcernedtheywereasfliesonalumpofsugar。Theywouldbecertaintoaskherquestions。
　　EvelynM。wouldsay:“Areyouinlove？Isitnicebeinginlove？“
　　AndMrs。Thornbury——hereyeswouldgoupanddown，upanddown——
　　sheshudderedatthethoughtofit。Indeed，theretirementoftheirlifesincetheirengagementhadmadehersosensitive，thatshewasnotexaggeratinghercase。
　　ShefoundanallyinHelen，whoproceededtoexpoundherviewsofthehumanrace，assheregardedwithcomplacencythepyramidofvariegatedfruitsinthecentreofthetable。Itwasn’tthattheywerecruel，ormeanttohurt，orevenstupidexactly；
　　butshehadalwaysfoundthattheordinarypersonhadsolittleemotioninhisownlifethatthescentofitinthelivesofotherswaslikethescentofbloodinthenostrilsofabloodhound。
　　Warmingtothetheme，shecontinued:
　　“Directlyanythinghappens——itmaybeamarriage，orabirth，oradeath——onthewholetheypreferittobeadeath——everyonewantstoseeyou。Theyinsistuponseeingyou。They’vegotnothingtosay；theydon’tcarearapforyou；butyou’vegottogotolunchortoteaortodinner，andifyoudon’tyou’redamned。
　　It’sthesmellofblood，“shecontinued；“Idon’tblame’em；onlytheyshan’thavemindifIknowit！“
　　Shelookedaboutherasifshehadcalledupalegionofhumanbeings，allhostileandalldisagreeable，whoencircledthetable，withmouthsgapingforblood，andmadeitappearalittleislandofneutralcountryinthemidstoftheenemy’scountry。
　　Herwordsrousedherhusband，whohadbeenmutteringrhythmicallytohimself，surveyinghisguestsandhisfoodandhiswifewitheyesthatwerenowmelancholyandnowfierce，accordingtothefortunesoftheladyinhisballad。HecutHelenshortwithaprotest。
　　Hehatedeventhesemblanceofcynicisminwomen。“Nonsense，nonsense，“
　　heremarkedabruptly。
　　TerenceandRachelglancedateachotheracrossthetable，whichmeantthatwhentheyweremarriedtheywouldnotbehavelikethat。
　　TheentranceofRidleyintotheconversationhadastrangeeffect。
　　Itbecameatoncemoreformalandmorepolite。Itwouldhavebeenimpossibletotalkquiteeasilyofanythingthatcameintotheirheads，andtosaythewordprostituteassimplyasanyotherword。
　　Thetalknowturneduponliteratureandpolitics，andRidleytoldstoriesofthedistinguishedpeoplehehadknowninhisyouth。
　　Suchtalkwasofthenatureofanart，andthepersonalitiesandinformalitiesoftheyoungweresilenced。Astheyrosetogo，Helenstoppedforamoment，leaningherelbowsonthetable。
　　“You’veallbeensittinghere，“shesaid，“foralmostanhour，andyouhaven’tnoticedmyfigs，ormyflowers，orthewaythelightcomesthrough，oranything。Ihaven’tbeenlistening，becauseI’vebeenlookingatyou。Youlookedverybeautiful；
　　Iwishyou’dgoonsittingforever。“
　　Sheledthewaytothedrawing-room，whereshetookupherembroidery，andbeganagaintodissuadeTerencefromwalkingdowntothehotelinthisheat。Butthemoreshedissuaded，themorehewasdeterminedtogo。Hebecameirritatedandobstinate。
　　Thereweremomentswhentheyalmostdislikedeachother。
　　Hewantedotherpeople；hewantedRachel，toseethemwithhim。
　　HesuspectedthatMrs。Ambrosewouldnowtrytodissuadeherfromgoing。Hewasannoyedbyallthisspaceandshadeandbeauty，andHirst，recumbent，droopingamagazinefromhiswrist。
　　“I’mgoing，“herepeated。“Rachelneedn’tcomeunlessshewantsto。“
　　“Ifyougo，Hewet，Iwishyou’dmakeenquiriesabouttheprostitute，“
　　saidHirst。“Lookhere，“headded，“I’llwalkhalfthewaywithyou。“
　　Greatlytotheirsurpriseheraisedhimself，lookedathiswatch，andremarkedthat，asitwasnowhalfanhoursinceluncheon，thegastricjuiceshadhadsufficienttimetosecrete；hewastryingasystem，heexplained，whichinvolvedshortspellsofexerciseinterspacedbylongerintervalsofrest。
　　“Ishallbebackatfour，“heremarkedtoHelen，“whenIshallliedownonthesofaandrelaxallmymusclescompletely。“
　　“Soyou’regoing，Rachel？“Helenasked。“Youwon’tstaywithme？“
　　Shesmiled，butshemighthavebeensad。
　　Wasshesad，orwasshereallylaughing？Rachelcouldnottell，andshefeltforthemomentveryuncomfortablebetweenHelenandTerence。
　　Thensheturnedaway，sayingmerelythatshewouldgowithTerence，onconditionthathedidallthetalking。
　　Anarrowborderofshadowranalongtheroad，whichwasbroadenoughfortwo，butnotbroadenoughforthree。St。Johnthereforedroppedalittlebehindthepair，andthedistancebetweenthemincreasedbydegrees。Walkingwithaviewtodigestion，andwithoneeyeuponhiswatch，helookedfromtimetotimeatthepairinfrontofhim。Theyseemedtobesohappy，sointimate，althoughtheywerewalkingsidebysidemuchasotherpeoplewalk。
　　Theyturnedslightlytowardeachothernowandthen，andsaidsomethingwhichhethoughtmustbesomethingveryprivate。