”Aren’tyou?”askedValhardily。”I?”repliedJames，flustered。”I’vegotsomanyexpenses。Yourfather……”andhewassilent。”CousinJolyon’sgotanawfullyjollyplace。IwentdowntherewithUncleSoames——rippingstables。””Ah！”murmuredJamesprofoundly。”Thathouse——Iknewhowitwouldbe！”Andhelapsedintogloomymeditationoverhisfish-bones。Hisson’stragedy，andthedeepcleavageithadcausedintheForsytefamily，hadstillthepowertodrawhimdownintoawhirlpoolofdoubtsandmisgivings。Val，whohankeredtotalkofRobinHill，becauseRobinHillmeantHolly，turnedtoEmilyandsaid：”WasthatthehousebuiltforUncleSoames?”And，receivinghernod，wenton：”Iwishyou’dtellmeabouthim，Granny。WhatbecameofAuntIrene?Isshestillgoing?Heseemsawfullyworked-upaboutsomethingto-night。”
Emilylaidherfingeronherlips，butthewordIrenehadcaughtJames’ear。”What’sthat?”hesaid，stayingapieceofmuttonclosetohislips。”Who’sbeenseeingher?Iknewwehadn’theardthelastofthat。””Now，James，”saidEmily，”eatyourdinner。Nobody’sbeenseeinganybody。”
Jamesputdownhisfork。”Thereyougo，”hesaid。”Imightdiebeforeyou’dtellmeofit。
IsSoamesgettingadivorce?””Nonsense，”saidEmilywithincomparableaplomb；”Soamesismuchtoosensible。”
Jameshadsoughthisownthroat，gatheringthelongwhitewhiskerstogetherontheskinandboneofit。”She——shewasalways……”hesaid，andwiththatenigmaticremarktheconversationlapsed，forWarmsonhadreturned。Butlater，whenthesaddleofmuttonhadbeensucceededbysweet，savoury，anddessert，andValhadreceivedachequefortwentypoundsandhisgrandfather’skiss——likenootherkissintheworld，fromlipspushedoutwithasortoffearfulsuddenness，asifyieldingtoweakness——hereturnedtothechargeinthehall。”TellusaboutUncleSoames，Granny。Whyishesokeenonmother’sgettingadivorce?””YourUncleSoames，”saidEmily，andhervoicehadinitanexaggeratedassurance，”isalawyer，mydearboy。He’ssuretoknowbest。””Ishe?”mutteredVal。”ButwhatdidbecomeofAuntIrene?I