AuntJuleybrokethehushagain。”We’vejustbeensaying，dear，howdreadfulitisabouttheseBoers！AndwhatanimpudentthingofthatoldKruger！””Impudent！”saidJune。”Ithinkhe’squiteright。Whatbusinesshavewetomeddlewiththem?IfheturnedoutallthosewretchedUitlandersitwouldservethemright。They’reonlyaftermoney。”
ThesilenceofsensationwasbrokenbyFranciesaying：”What?Areyouapro-Boer?”undoubtedlythefirstuseofthatexpression。”Well！Whycan’tweleavethemalone?”saidJune，justas，intheopendoorway，themaidsaid”Mr。SoamesForsyte。”Sensationonsensation！GreetingwasalmostheldupbycuriositytoseehowJuneandhewouldtakethisencounter，foritwasshrewdlysuspected，ifnotquiteknown，thattheyhadnotmetsincethatoldandlamentableaffairofherfianceBosinneywithSoames’wife。
Theywereseentojusttoucheachother’shands，andlookeachattheother’slefteyeonly。AuntJuleycameatoncetotherescue：”DearJuneissooriginal。Fancy，Soames，shethinkstheBoersarenottoblame。””Theyonlywanttheirindependence，”saidJune；”andwhyshouldn’ttheyhaveit?””Because，”answeredSoames，withhissmilealittleononeside，”theyhappentohaveagreedtooursuzerainty。””Suzerainty！”repeatedJunescornfully；”weshouldn’tlikeanyone’ssuzeraintyoverus。””Theygotadvantagesinpayment，”repliedSoames；”acontractisacontract。””Contractsarenotalwaysjust，”fumedoutJune，”andwhenthey’renot，theyoughttobebroken。TheBoersaremuchtheweaker。Wecouldaffordtobegenerous。”
Soamessniffed。”That’smeresentiment，”hesaid。
AuntHester，towhomnothingwasmoreawfulthananykindofdisagreement，hereleanedforwardandremarkeddecisively：”Whatlovelyweatherithasbeenforthetimeofyear?”