’He’snotthesame，’shethought。Hewouldneverbequitethesameagain！Butwhatwouldhebe?”Allright！”hesaid，andwenttowardsthedoor。Heevenmoveddifferently，likeamanwhohaslostillusionanddoubtswhetheritisworthwhiletomoveatall。
　　Whenhewasgone，andsheheardthewaterinthebathrunning，sheputoutacompletesetofgarmentsonthebedinhisdressing-room，thenwentdownstairsandfetchedupthebiscuitboxandwhisky。
　　Puttingonhercoatagain，andlisteningamomentatthebathroomdoor，shewentdownandout。Inthestreetshehesitated。Pastseveno’clock！WouldSoamesbeathisCluboratParkLane?Sheturnedtowardsthelatter。Back！
　　Soameshadalwaysfearedit——shehadsometimeshopedit……Back！
　　Solikehim——clownthathewas——withthis：’Hereweareagain！’tomakefoolsofthemall——oftheLaw，ofSoames，ofherself！
　　YettohavedonewiththeLaw，nottohavethatmurkycloudhangingoverherandthechildren！Whatarelief！Ah！buthowtoaccepthisreturn?That’woman’hadravagedhim，takenfromhimpassionsuchashehadneverbestowedonherself，suchasshehadnotthoughthimcapableof。Therewasthesting！Thatselfish，blatant’clown’ofhers，whomsheherselfhadneverreallystirred，hadbeensweptandungarnishedbyanotherwoman！Insulting！Tooinsulting！Notright，notdecenttotakehimback！Andyetshehadaskedforhim；theLawperhapswouldmakehernow！Hewasasmuchherhusbandasever——shehadputherselfoutofcourt！Andallhewanted，nodoubt，wasmoney——tokeephimincigarsandlavender-water！Thatscent！’Afterall，I’mnotold，’shethought，’notoldyet！’Butthatwomanwhohadreducedhimtothosewords：’I’vebeenthroughit。I’vebeenfrightened——
　　frightened，Freddie！’Shenearedherfather’shouse，driventhiswayandthat，whileallthetimetheForsyteundertowwasdrawinghertodeepconclusionthatafterallhewasherproperty，tobeheldagainstarobbingworld。AndsoshecametoJames’。”Mr。Soames?Inhisroom?I’llgoup；don’tsayI’mhere。”
　　Herbrotherwasdressing。Shefoundhimbeforeamirror，tyingablackbowwithanairofdespisingitsends。”Hullo！”hesaid，contemplatingherintheglass；”what’swrong?””Monty！”saidWinifredstonily。
　　Soamesspunround。”What！””Back！””Hoist，”mutteredSoames，”withourownpetard。Whythedeucedidn’tyouletmetrycruelty?Ialwaysknewitwastoomuchriskthisway。””Oh！Don’ttalkaboutthat！WhatshallIdo?”
　　Soamesanswered，withadeep，deepsound。”Well?”saidWinifredimpatiently。”Whathashetosayforhimself?””Nothing。Oneofhisbootsissplitacrossthetoe。”
　　Soamesstaredather。”Ah！”hesaid，”ofcourse！Onhisbeamends。So——itbeginsagain！
　　This’llaboutfinishfather。””Can’twekeepitfromhim?””Impossible。Hehasanuncannyflairforanythingthat’sworrying。”
　　Andhebrooded，withfingershookedintohisbluesilkbraces。”Thereoughttobesomewayinlaw，”hemuttered，”tomakehimsafe。””No，”criedWinifred，”Iwon’tbemadeafoolofagain；I’dsoonerputupwithhim。”
　　Thetwostaredateachother。Theirheartswerefulloffeeling，buttheycouldgiveitnoexpression——Forsytesthattheywere。”Wheredidyouleavehim?””Inthebath，”andWinifredgavealittlebitterlaugh。”Theonlythinghe’sbroughtbackislavender-water。””Steady！”saidSoames，”you’rethoroughlyupset。I’llgobackwithyou。””What’stheuse?””Weoughttomaketermswithhim。””Terms！It’llalwaysbethesame。Whenherecovers——cardsandbetting，drinkand……！”Shewassilent，rememberingthelookonherhusband’sface。Theburntchild——theburntchild。Perhaps……！”Recovers?”repliedSoames：”Isheill?””No；burntout；that’sall。”
　　Soamestookhiswaistcoatfromachairandputiton，hetookhiscoatandgotintoit，hescentedhishandkerchiefwitheau-de-
　　Cologne，threadedhiswatch-chain，andsaid：”Wehaven’tanyluck。”
　　AndinthemidstofherowntroubleWinifredwassorryforhim，asifinthatlittlesayinghehadrevealeddeeptroubleofhisown。”I’dliketoseemother，”shesaid。”She’llbewithfatherintheirroom。Comedownquietlytothestudy。I’llgether。”
　　Winifredstoledowntothelittledarkstudy，chieflyremarkableforaCanalettotoodoubtfultobeplacedelsewhere，andafinecollectionofLawReportsunopenedformanyyears。Hereshestood，withherbacktomaroon-colouredcurtainsclose-drawn，staringattheemptygrate，tillhermothercameinfollowedbySoames。”Oh！mypoordear！”saidEmily：”Howmiserableyoulookinhere！
　　Thisistoobadofhim，really！”
　　Asafamilytheyhadsoguardedthemselvesfromtheexpressionofallunfashionableemotionthatitwasimpossibletogoupandgiveherdaughteragoodhug。Buttherewascomfortinhercushionedvoice，andherstilldimpledshouldersundersomerareblacklace。
　　Summoningprideandthedesirenottodistresshermother，Winifredsaidinhermostoff-handvoice：”It’sallright，Mother；nogoodfussing。””Idon’tsee，”saidEmily，lookingatSoames，”whyWinifredshouldn’ttellhimthatshe’llprosecutehimifhedoesn’tkeepoffthepremises。Hetookherpearls；andifhe’snotbroughtthemback，that’squiteenough。”
　　Winifredsmiled。Theywouldallplungeaboutwithsuggestionsofthisandthat，butsheknewalreadywhatshewouldbedoing，andthatwas——nothing。Thefeelingthat，afterall，shehadwonasortofvictory，retainedherproperty，waseverymomentgaininggroundinher。No！ifshewantedtopunishhim，shecoulddoitathomewithouttheworldknowing。”Well，”saidEmily，”comeintothediningroomcomfortably——youmuststayandhavedinnerwithus。Leaveittometotellyourfather。”And，asWinifredmovedtowardsthedoor，sheturnedoutthelight。Nottillthendidtheyseethedisasterinthecorridor。
　　There，attractedbylightfromaroomneverlighted，Jameswasstandingwithhisduncolouredcamel-hairshawlfoldedabouthim，sothathisarmswerenotfreeandhissilveredheadlookedcutofffromhisfashionablytrouseredlegsasifbyanexpanseofdesert。
　　Hestood，inimitablystork-like，withanexpressionasifhesawbeforehimafrogtoolargetoswallow。”What’sallthis?”hesaid。”Tellyourfather?Younevertellmeanything。”
　　ThemomentfoundEmilywithoutreply。ItwasWinifredwhowentuptohim，and，layingonehandoneachofhisswathed，helplessarms，said：”Monty’snotgonebankrupt，Father。He’sonlycomeback。”
　　Theyallthreeexpectedsomethingserioustohappen，andweregladshehadkeptthatgripofhisarms，buttheydidnotknowthedepthofrootinthatshadowyoldForsyte。Somethingwryoccurredabouthisshavenmouthandchin，somethingscratchybetweenthoselongsilverywhiskers。Thenhesaidwithasortofdignity：”He’llbethedeathofme。Iknewhowitwouldbe。””Youmustn’tworry，Father，”saidWinifredcalmly。”Imeantomakehimbehave。””Ah！”saidJames。”Here，takethisthingoff，I’mhot。”Theyunwoundtheshawl。Heturned，andwalkedfirmlytothedining-
　　room。”Idon’twantanysoup，”hesaidtoWarmson，andsatdowninhischair。Theyallsatdowntoo，Winifredstillinherhat，whileWarmsonlaidthefourthplace。Whenhelefttheroom，Jamessaid：”What’shebroughtback?””Nothing，Father。”
　　Jamesconcentratedhiseyesonhisownimageinatablespoon。”Divorce！”hemuttered；”rubbish！WhatwasIabout?IoughttohavepaidhimanallowancetostayoutofEngland。Soamesyougoandproposeittohim。”
　　ItseemedsorightandsimpleasuggestionthatevenWinifredwassurprisedwhenshesaid：”No，I’llkeephimnowhe’sback；hemustjustbehave——that’sall。”
　　Theyalllookedather。IthadalwaysbeenknownthatWinifredhadpluck。”Outthere！”saidJameselliptically，”whoknowswhatcut-throats！
　　Youlookforhisrevolver！Don’tgotobedwithout。YououghttohaveWarmsontosleepinthehouse。I’llseehimmyselftomorrow。”
　　Theyweretouchedbythisdeclaration，andEmilysaidcomfortably：”That’sright，James，wewon’thaveanynonsense。””Ah！”mutteredJamesdarkly，”Ican’ttell。”
　　TheadventofWarmsonwithfishdivertedconversation。
　　When，directlyafterdinner，Winifredwentovertokissherfathergood-night，helookedupwitheyessofullofquestionanddistressthatsheputallthecomfortshecouldintohervoice。”It’sallright，Daddy，dear；don’tworry。Ishan’tneedanyone——
　　he’squitebland。Ishallonlybeupsetifyouworry。Good-night，blessyou！”
　　Jamesrepeatedthewords，”Blessyou！”asifhedidnotquiteknowwhattheymeant，andhiseyesfollowedhertothedoor。
　　Shereachedhomebeforenine，andwentstraightupstairs。