shallbeveryhappy，”withtheuneasyfeelingthattoclaimdamageswouldmakenotJolyonbuthimselfsuffer；hefeltuncannilythatJolyonwouldratherliketopaythem——thechapwassoloose。
Besides，toclaimdamageswasnotthethingtodo。Theclaim，indeed，hadbeenmadealmostmechanically；andasthehourdrewnearSoamessawinitjustanotherdodgeofthisinsensitiveandtopsy-turvyLawtomakehimridiculous；sothatpeoplemightsneerandsay：”Oh，yes，hegotquiteagoodpriceforher！”AndhegaveinstructionsthathisCounselshouldstatethatthemoneywouldbegiventoaHomeforFallenWomen。Hewasalongtimehittingoffexactlytherightcharity；but，havingpitchedonit，heusedtowakeupinthenightandthink：’Itwon’tdo，toolurid；
it’lldrawattention。Somethingquieter——bettertaste。’Hedidnotcarefordogs，orhewouldhavenamedthem；anditwasindesperationatlast——forhisknowledgeofcharitieswaslimited——
thathedecidedontheblind。Thatcouldnotbeinappropriate，anditwouldmaketheJuryassessthedamageshigh。
Agoodmanysuitsweredroppingoutofthelist，whichhappenedtobeexceptionallythinthatsummer，sothathiscasewouldbereachedbeforeAugust。Asthedaygrewnearer，Winifredwashisonlycomfort。Sheshowedthefellow-feelingofonewhohadbeenthroughthemill，andwasthe’femme-sole’inwhomheconfided，wellknowingthatshewouldnotletDartieintoherconfidence。
Thatruffianwouldbeonlytoorejoiced！AttheendofJuly，ontheafternoonbeforethecase，hewentintoseeher。Theyhadnotyetbeenabletoleavetown，becauseDartiehadalreadyspenttheirsummerholiday，andWinifreddarednotgotoherfatherformoremoneywhilehewaswaitingnottobetoldanythingaboutthisaffairofSoames。
Soamesfoundherwithaletterinherhand。”ThatfromVal，”heaskedgloomily。”Whatdoeshesay?””Hesayshe’smarried，”saidWinifred。”Whomto，forGoodness’sake?”
Winifredlookedupathim。”ToHollyForsyte，Jolyon’sdaughter。””What?””Hegotleaveanddidit。Ididn’tevenknowheknewher。
Awkward，isn’tit?”
Soamesutteredashortlaughatthatcharacteristicminimisation。”Awkward！Well，Idon’tsupposethey’llhearaboutthistilltheycomeback。They’dbetterstayoutthere。Thatfellowwillgivehermoney。””ButIwantValback，”saidWinifredalmostpiteously；”Imisshim，hehelpsmetogeton。””Iknow，”murmuredSoames。”How’sDartiebehavingnow?””Itmightbeworse；butit’salwaysmoney。WouldyoulikemetocomedowntotheCourtto-morrow，Soames?”
Soamesstretchedouthishandforhers。Thegesturesobetrayedthelonelinessinhimthatshepresseditbetweenhertwo。”Nevermind，oldboy。You’llfeeleversomuchbetterwhenit’sallover。””Idon’tknowwhatI’vedone，”saidSoameshuskily；”Ineverhave。
It’sallupsidedown。Iwasfondofher；I’vealwaysbeen。”
Winifredsawadropofbloodoozeoutofhislip，andthesightstirredherprofoundly。”Ofcourse，”shesaid，”it’sbeentoobadofherallalong！ButwhatshallIdoaboutthismarriageofVal’s，Soames?Idon’tknowhowtowritetohim，withthiscomingon。You’veseenthatchild。
Isshepretty?””Yes，she’spretty，”saidSoames。”Dark——lady-likeenough。”
’Thatdoesn’tsoundsobad，’thoughtWinifred。’Jolyonhadstyle。’”Itisacoil，”shesaid。”Whatwillfathersay?”Mustn’tbetold，”saidSoames。”Thewar’llsoonbeovernow，you’dbetterletValtaketofarmingoutthere。”
Itwastantamounttosayingthathisnephewwaslost。”Ihaven’ttoldMonty，”Winifredmurmureddesolately。
Thecasewasreachedbeforenoonnextday，andwasoverinlittlemorethanhalfanhour。Soames——pale，spruce，sad-eyedinthewitness-box——hadsufferedsomuchbeforehandthathetookitalllikeonedead。ThemomentthedecreenisiwaspronouncedhelefttheCourtsofJustice。
Fourhoursuntilhebecamepublicproperty！’Solicitor’sdivorcesuit！’Asurly，doggedangerreplacedthatdeadfeelingwithinhim。’Damnthemall！’hethought；’Iwon’trunaway。I’llactasifnothinghadhappened。’AndintheswelteringheatofFleetStreetandLudgateHillhewalkedallthewaytohisCityClub，lunched，andwentbacktohisoffice。Heworkedtherestolidlythroughouttheafternoon。
Onhiswayouthesawthathisclerksknew，andansweredtheirinvoluntaryglanceswithalooksosardonicthattheywereimmediatelywithdrawn。InfrontofSt。Paul’s，hestoppedtobuythemostgentlemanlyoftheeveningpapers。Yes！therehewas！
’Well-knownsolicitor’sdivorce。Cousinco-respondent。Damagesgiventotheblind’——so，theyhadgotthatin！Ateveryotherface，hethought：’Iwonderifyouknow！’Andsuddenlyhefeltqueer，asifsomethingwereracingroundinhishead。
Whatwasthis?Hewaslettingitgetholdofhim！Hemustn’t！Hewouldbeill。Hemustn’tthink！Hewouldgetdowntotheriverandrowabout，andfish。’I’mnotgoingtobelaidup，’hethought。
Itflashedacrosshimthathehadsomethingofimportancetodobeforehewentoutoftown。MadameLamotte！HemustexplaintheLaw。Anothersixmonthsbeforehewasreallyfree！OnlyhedidnotwanttoseeAnnette！Andhepassedhishandoverthetopofhishead——itwasveryhot。
HebranchedoffthroughCoventGarden。OnthissultrydayoflateJulythegarbage-taintedairoftheoldmarketoffendedhim，andSohoseemedmorethaneverthedisenchantedhomeofrapscallionism。
Alone，theRestaurantBretagne，neat，daintilypainted，withitsbluetubsandthedwarftreestherein，retainedanaloofandFrenchifiedself-respect。Itwastheslackhour，andpaletrimwaitresseswerepreparingthelittletablesfordinner。Soameswentthroughintotheprivatepart。TohisdiscomfitureAnnetteansweredhisknock。She，too，lookedpaleanddraggeddownbytheheat。”Youarequiteastranger，”shesaidlanguidly。
Soamessmiled。”Ihaven’twishedtobe；I’vebeenbusy。
Where’syourmother，Annette?I’vegotsomenewsforher。””Motherisnotin。”
ItseemedtoSoamesthatshelookedathiminaqueerway。Whatdidsheknow?Howmuchhadhermothertoldher?Theworryoftryingtomakethatoutgavehimanalarmingfeelinginthehead。
Hegrippedtheedgeofthetable，anddizzilysawAnnettecomeforward，hereyesclearwithsurprise。Heshuthisownandsaid：”It’sallright。I’vehadatouchofthesun，Ithink。”Thesun！
Whathehadwasatouchof’darkness！Annette’svoice，Frenchandcomposed，said：”Sitdown，itwillpass，then。”Herhandpressedhisshoulder，andSoamessankintoachair。Whenthedarkfeelingdispersed，andheopenedhiseyes，shewaslookingdownathim。Whataninscrutableandoddexpressionforagirloftwenty！”Doyoufeelbetter?””It’snothing，”saidSoames。Instincttoldhimthattobefeeblebeforeherwasnothelpinghim——agewasenoughhandicapwithoutthat。Will-powerwashisfortunewithAnnette，hehadlostgroundtheselattermonthsfromindecision——hecouldnotaffordtoloseanymore。Hegotup，andsaid：”I’llwritetoyourmother。I’mgoingdowntomyriverhouseforalongholiday。Iwantyoubothtocometherepresentlyandstay。
It’sjustatitsbest。Youwill，won’tyou?””Itwillbevereenice。”Aprettylittlerollofthat’r’butnoenthusiasm。Andrathersadlyheadded：”You’refeelingtheheat；too，aren’tyou，Annette?It’lldoyougoodtobeontheriver。Good-night。”Annetteswayedforward。
Therewasasortofcompunctioninthemovement。”Areyoufittogo?ShallIgiveyousomecoffee?””No，”saidSoamesfirmly。”Givemeyourhand。”
Sheheldoutherhand，andSoamesraisedittohislips。Whenhelookedup，herfaceworeagainthatstrangeexpression。’Ican’ttell，’hethought，ashewentout；’butImustn’tthink——Imustn’tworry：
Butworryhedid，walkingtowardPallMall。English，notofherreligion，middle-aged，scarredasitwerebydomestictragedy，whathadhetogiveher?Onlywealth，socialposition，leisure，admiration！Itwasmuch，butwasitenoughforabeautifulgirloftwenty?HefeltsoignorantaboutAnnette。Hehad，too，acuriousfearoftheFrenchnatureofhermotherandherself。Theyknewsowellwhattheywanted。TheywerealmostForsytes。TheywouldnevergraspashadowandmissasubstanceThetremendouseffortitwastowriteasimplenotetoMadameLamottewhenhereachedhisClubwarnedhimstillfurtherthathewasattheendofhistether。”MYDEARMADAMEhesaid，”YouwillseebytheenclosednewspapercuttingthatIobtainedmydecreeofdivorceto-day。BytheEnglishLawIshallnot，however，befreetomarryagaintillthedecreeisconfirmedsixmonthshence。InthemeanwhileIhavethehonortoasktobeconsideredaformalsuitorforthehandofyourdaughter。Ishallwriteagaininafewdaysandbegyoubothtocomeandstayatmyriverhouse。”Iam，dearMadame，”Sincerelyyours，”SOAMESFORSYTE。’
Havingsealedandpostedthisletter，hewentintothedining-room。
Threemouthfulsofsoupconvincedhimthathecouldnoteat；and，causingacabtobesummoned，hedrovetoPaddingtonStationandtookthefirsttraintoReading。Hereachedhishousejustasthesunwentdown，andwanderedoutontothelawn。Theairwasdrenchedwiththescentofpinksandpicoteesinhisflower-
borders。Astealingcoolnesscameofftheriver。
Rest-peace！Letapoorfellowrest！Letnotworryandshameandangerchaselikeevilnightbirdsinhishead！Likethosedovesperchedhalf-sleepingontheirdovecot，likethefurrycreaturesinthewoodsonthefarside，andthesimplefolkintheircottages，likethetreesandtheriveritself，whiteningfastintwilight，likethedarkeningcornflower-blueskywherestarswerecomingup——
lethimceasefromhimself，andrest！
CHAPTERX
PASSINGOFANAGE
ThemarriageofSoameswithAnnettetookplaceinParisonthelastdayofJanuary，1901，withsuchprivacythatnotevenEmilywastolduntilitwasaccomplished。
ThedayaftertheweddinghebroughthertooneofthosequiethotelsinLondonwheregreaterexpensecanbeincurredforlessresultthananywhereelseunderheaven。HerbeautyinthebestParisianfrockswasgivinghimmoresatisfactionthanifhehadcollectedaperfectbitofchina，orajewelofapicture；helookedforwardtothemomentwhenhewouldexhibitherinParkLane，inGreenStreet，andatTimothy’s。
Ifsomeonehadaskedhiminthosedays，”Inconfidence——areyouinlovewiththisgirl?”hewouldhavereplied：”Inlove?Whatislove?IfyoumeandoIfeeltoherasIdidtowardsIreneinthoseolddayswhenIfirstmetherandshewouldnothaveme；whenI