Jolyonhadreachedthewords:”Mydear,Iwantyoutocomewithme,”when,glancingatherface,heperceivedbyherblueeyesmovingfromsidetoside——likethetailofapreoccupiedcatthatshewasnotattending。”Dad,isittruethatIabsolutelycan’tgetatanyofmymoney?””Onlytheincome,fortunately,mylove。””Howperfectlybeastly!Can’titbedonesomehow?Theremustbeaway。IknowIcouldbuyasmallGalleryfortenthousandpounds。””AsmallGallery,”murmuredJolyon,”seemsamodestdesire。Butyourgrandfatherforesawit。””Ithink,”criedJunevigorously,”thatallthiscareaboutmoneyisawful,whenthere’ssomuchgeniusintheworldsimplycrushedoutforwantofalittle。Ishallnevermarryandhavechildren;
whyshouldn’tIbeabletodosomegoodinsteadofhavingitalltiedupincaseofthingswhichwillnevercomeoff?””OurnameisForsyte,mydear,”repliedJolyonintheironicalvoicetowhichhisimpetuousdaughterhadneverquitegrownaccustomed;”andForsytes,youknow,arepeoplewhososettletheirpropertythattheirgrandchildren,incasetheyshoulddiebeforetheirparents,havetomakewillsleavingthepropertythatwillonlycometothemselveswhentheirparentsdie。Doyoufollowthat?NordoI,butit’safact,anyway;welivebytheprinciplethatsolongasthereisapossibilityofkeepingwealthinthefamilyitmustnotgoout;ifyoudieunmarried,yourmoneygoestoJollyandHollyandtheirchildreniftheymarry。Isn’titpleasanttoknowthatwhateveryoudoyoucannoneofyoubedestitute?””Butcan’tIborrowthemoney?”
Jolyonshookhishead。”YoucouldrentaGallery,nodoubt,ifyoucouldmanageitoutofyourincome。”
Juneutteredacontemptuoussound。”Yes;andhavenoincomelefttohelpanybodywith。””Mydearchild,”murmuredJolyon,”wouldn’titcometothesamething?””No,”saidJuneshrewdly,”Icouldbuyfortenthousand;thatwouldonlybefourhundredayear。ButIshouldhavetopayathousandayearrent,andthatwouldonlyleavemefivehundred。IfIhadtheGallery,Dad,thinkwhatIcoulddo。IcouldmakeEricCobbley’snameinnotime,andeversomanyothers。””Namesworthmakingmakethemselvesintime。””Whenthey’redead。””Didyoueverknowanybodyliving,mydear,improvedbyhavinghisnamemade?””Yes,you,”saidJune,pressinghisarm。
Jolyonstarted。’I?’hethought。’Oh!Ah!Nowshe’sgoingtoaskmetodosomething。Wetakeitout,weForsytes,eachinourdifferentways。’
Junecameclosertohiminthecab。”Darling,”shesaid,”youbuytheGallery,andI’llpayyoufourhundredayearforit。Thenneitherofuswillbeanytheworseoff。Besides,it’sasplendidinvestment。”
Jolyonwriggled。”Don’tyouthink,”hesaid,”thatforanartisttobuyaGalleryisabitdubious?Besides,tenthousandpoundsisalump,andI’mnotacommercialcharacter。”
Junelookedathimwithadmiringappraisement。”Ofcourseyou’renot,butyou’reawfullybusinesslike。AndI’msurewecouldmakeitpay。It’llbeaperfectwayofscoringoffthosewretcheddealersandpeople。”Andagainshesqueezedherfather’sarm。
Jolyon’sfaceexpressedquizzicaldespair。”WhereisthisdesirableGallery?Splendidlysituated,Isuppose?””JustoffCorkStreet。”
’Ah!’thoughtJolyon,’Iknewitwasjustoffsomewhere。NowforwhatIwantoutofher!’”Well,I’llthinkofit,butnotjustnow。YourememberIrene?I
wantyoutocomewithmeandseeher。Soamesisafterheragain。
Shemightbesaferifwecouldgiveherasylumsomewhere。”
Thewordasylum,whichhehadusedbychance,wasofallmostcalculatedtorouseJune’sinterest。”Irene!Ihaven’tseenhersince!Ofcourse!I’dlovetohelpher。”
ItwasJolyon’sturntosqueezeherarm,inwarmadmirationforthisspirited,generous-heartedlittlecreatureofhisbegetting。”Ireneisproud,”hesaid,withasidelongglance,insuddendoubtofJune’sdiscretion;”she’sdifficulttohelp。Wemusttreadgently。Thisistheplace。Iwiredhertoexpectus。Let’ssendupourcards。””Ican’tbearSoames,”saidJuneasshegotout;”hesneersateverythingthatisn’tsuccessful”
Irenewasinwhatwascalledthe’Ladies’drawing-room’ofthePiedmontHotel。
Nothingifnotmorallycourageous,Junewalkedstraightuptoherformerfriend,kissedhercheek,andthetwosettleddownonasofaneversatonsincethehotel’sfoundation。JolyoncouldseethatIrenewasdeeplyaffectedbythissimpleforgiveness。”SoSoameshasbeenworryingyou?”hesaid。”Ihadavisitfromhimlastnight;hewantsmetogobacktohim。””You’renotgoing,ofcourse?”criedJune。
Irenesmiledfaintlyandshookherhead。”Buthispositionishorrible,”shemurmured。”It’shisownfault;heoughttohavedivorcedyouwhenhecould。”
Jolyon,rememberedhowferventlyintheolddaysJunehadhopedthatnodivorcewouldsmirchherdeadandfaithlesslover’sname。”LetushearwhatIreneisgoingtodo,”hesaid。
Irene’slipsquivered,butshespokecalmly。”I’dbettergivehimfreshexcusetogetridofme。””Howhorrible!”criedJune。”WhatelsecanIdo?””Outofthequestion,”saidJolyonveryquietly,”sansamour。”
Hethoughtshewasgoingtocry;but,gettingupquickly,shehalfturnedherbackonthem,andstoodregainingcontrolofherself。
Junesaidsuddenly:”Well,IshallgotoSoamesandtellhimhemustleaveyoualone。
Whatdoeshewantathisage?””Achild。It’snotunnatural””Achild!”criedJunescornfully。”Ofcourse!Toleavehismoneyto。Ifhewantsonebadlyenoughlethimtakesomebodyandhaveone;thenyoucandivorcehim,andhecanmarryher。”
JolyonperceivedsuddenlythathehadmadeamistaketobringJune——
herviolentpartizanshipwasfightingSoames’battle。”ItwouldbebestforIrenetocomequietlytousatRobinHill,andseehowthingsshape。””Ofcourse,”saidJune;”only……”
IrenelookedfullatJolyon——inallhismanyattemptsafterwardstoanalyzethatglancehenevercouldsucceed。”No!Ishouldonlybringtroubleonyouall。Iwillgoabroad。”
Heknewfromhervoicethatthiswasfinal。Theirrelevantthoughtflashedthroughhim:’Well,Icouldseeherthere。’Buthesaid:”Don’tyouthinkyouwouldbemorehelplessabroad,incasehefollowed?””Idon’tknow。Icanbuttry。”
Junesprangupandpacedtheroom。”It’sallhorrible,”shesaid。”Whyshouldpeoplebetorturedandkeptmiserableandhelplessyearafteryearbythisdisgustingsanctimoniouslaw?”Butsomeonehadcomeintotheroom,andJunecametoastandstill。JolyonwentuptoIrene:”Doyouwantmoney?”No。”Andwouldyoulikemetoletyourfiat?””Yes,Jolyon,please。””Whenshallyoubegoing?””To-morrow。””Youwon’tgobackthereinthemeantime,willyou?”Thishesaidwithananxietystrangetohimself。”No;I’vegotallIwanthere。””You’llsendmeyouraddress?”
Sheputoutherhandtohim。”Ifeelyou’rearock。””Builtonsand,”answeredJolyon,pressingherhandhard;”butit’sapleasuretodoanything,atanytime,rememberthat。Andifyouchangeyourmind……!Comealong,June;saygood-bye。”
JunecamefromthewindowandflungherarmsroundIrene。”Don’tthinkofhim,”shesaidunderherbreath;”enjoyyourself,andblessyou!”
WithamemoryoftearsinIrene’seyes,andofasmileonherlips,theywentawayextremelysilent,passingtheladywhohadinterruptedtheinterviewandwasturningoverthepapersonthetable。
OppositetheNationalGalleryJuneexclaimed:”Ofallundignifiedbeastsandhorriblelaws!”