”Ican’tthinkwhatweareabout，”saidAuntJuley，raisingherhands，”talkingofsuchthings！””Wasshedivorced?”askedImogenfromthedoor。”Certainlynot，”criedAuntJuley；”thatis——certainlynot。”Asoundwasheardoverbythefardoor。Timothyhadre-enteredthebackdrawing-room。”I’vecomeformymap，”hesaid。”Who’sbeendivorced?””Noone，Uncle，”repliedFranciewithperfecttruth。
Timothytookhismapoffthepiano。”Don’tlet’shaveanythingofthatsortinthefamily，”hesaid。”Allthisenlistin’sbadenough。Thecountry’sbreakin’up；I
don’tknowwhatwe’recomin’to。”Heshookathickfingerattheroom：”Toomanywomennowadays，andtheydon’tknowwhattheywant。”
Sosaying，hegraspedthemapfirmlywithbothhands，andwentoutasifafraidofbeinganswered。
Thesevenwomenwhomhehadaddressedbrokeintoasubduedmurmur，outofwhichemergedFrancie’s，”Really，theForsytes！”andAuntJuley’s：”Hemusthavehisfeetinmustardandhotwaterto-night，Hester；willyoutellJane?Thebloodhasgonetohisheadagain，I’mafraid……”
Thatevening，whensheandHesterweresittingaloneafterdinner，shedroppedastitchinhercrochet，andlookedup：”Hester，Ican’tthinkwhereI’veheardthatdearSoameswantsIrenetocomebacktohimagain。WhowasittoldusthatGeorgehadmadeafunnydrawingofhimwiththewords，’Hewon’tbehappytillhegetsit’?””Eustace，”answeredAuntHesterfrombehindTheTimes；”hehaditinhispocket，buthewouldn’tshowitus。”
AuntJuleywassilent，ruminating。Theclockticked，TheTimescrackled，thefiresentforthitsrustlingpurr。AuntJuleydroppedanotherstitch。”Hester，”shesaid，”Ihavehadsuchadreadfulthought。””Thendon’ttellme，”saidAuntHesterquickly。”Oh！butImust。Youcan’tthinkhowdreadful”Hervoicesanktoawhisper：”Jolyon——Jolyon，theysay，hasa——hasafairbeard，now。”
CHAPTERXII
PROGRESSOFTHECHASE
TwodaysafterthedinneratJames’，Mr。PolteedprovidedSoameswithfoodforthought。”Agentleman，”hesaid，consultingthekeyconcealedinhislefthand，”47aswesay，hasbeenpayingmarkedattentionto17duringthelastmonthinParis。Butatpresentthereseemstohavebeennothingveryconclusive。Themeetingshaveallbeeninpublicplaces，withoutconcealment——restaurants，theOpera，theComique，theLouvre，LuxembourgGardens，loungeofthehotel，andsoforth。
Shehasnotyetbeentracedtohisrooms，norviceversa。TheywenttoFontainebleau——butnothingofvalue。Inshort，thesituationispromising，butrequirespatience。”And，lookingupsuddenly，headded：”Onerathercuriouspoint——47hasthesamenameas——er-31！”
’ThefellowknowsI’mherhusband，’thoughtSoames。”Christianname——anoddone——Jolyon，”continuedMr。Polteed。”WeknowhisaddressinParisandhisresidencehere。Wedon’twish，ofcourse，toberunningawronghare。””Goonwithit，butbecareful，”saidSoamesdoggedly。
Instinctivecertaintythatthisdetectivefellowhadfathomedhissecretmadehimallthemorereticent。”Excuseme，”saidMr。Polteed，”I’lljustseeifthere’sanythingfreshin。”
Hereturnedwithsomeletters。Relockingthedoor，heglancedattheenvelopes。”Yes，here’sapersonalonefrom19tomyself。””Well?”saidSoames。”Um！”saidMr。Polteed，”shesays：’47leftforEnglandto-day。
Addressonhisbaggage：RobinHill。Partedfrom17inLouvreGalleryat3。30；nothingverystriking。Thoughtitbesttostayandcontinueobservationof17。Youwilldealwith47inEnglandifyouthinkdesirable，nodoubt。’”AndMr。PolteedliftedanunprofessionalglanceonSoames，asthoughhemightbestoringmaterialforabookonhumannatureafterhehadgoneoutofbusiness。”Veryintelligentwoman，19，andawonderfulmake-up。
Notcheap，butearnshermoneywell。There’snosuspicionofbeingshadowedsofar。Butafteratime，asyouknow，sensitivepeopleareliabletogetthefeelingofit，withoutanythingdefinitetogoon。Ishouldratheradviseletting-upon17，andkeepinganeyeon47。Wecan’tgetatcorrespondencewithoutgreatrisk。I
hardlyadvisethatatthisstage。Butyoucantellyourclientthatit’slookingupverywell。”Andagainhisnarrowedeyesgleamedathistaciturncustomer。”No，”saidSoamessuddenly，”IpreferthatyoushouldkeepthewatchgoingdiscreetlyinParis，andnotconcernyourselfwiththisend。””Verywell，”repliedMr。Polteed，”wecandoit。”What——whatisthemannerbetweenthem?””I’llreadyouwhatshesays，”saidMr。Polteed，unlockingabureaudrawerandtakingoutafileofpapers；”shesumsitupsomewhereconfidentially。Yes，hereitis！’17veryattractive——conclude47，longerinthetooth’slangforage，youknow——’distinctlygone——waitinghistime——17perhapsholdingoffforterms，impossibletosaywithoutknowingmore。Butinclinedtothinkonthewhole——doesn’tknowhermind——likelytoactonimpulsesomeday。Bothhavestyle。”’”Whatdoesthatmean?”saidSoamesbetweencloselips。”Well，”murmuredMr。Polteedwithasmile，showingmanywhiteteeth，”anexpressionweuse。Inotherwords，it’snotlikelytobeaweekendbusiness——they’llcometogetherseriouslyornotatall。””H’m！”mutteredSoames，”that’sall，isit?””Yes，”saidMr。Polteed，”butquitepromising。”
’Spider！’thoughtSoames。”Good-day！”
HewalkedintotheGreenParkthathemightcrosstoVictoriaStationandtaketheUndergroundintotheCity。ForsolateinJanuaryitwaswarm；sunlight，throughthehaze，sparkledonthefrostygrass——anilluminedcobwebofaday。
Littlespiders——andgreatspiders！Andthegreatestspinnerofall，hisowntenacity，foreverwrappingitscocoonofthreadsroundanyclearwayout。WhatwasthatfellowhangingroundIrenefor?WasitreallyasPolteedsuggested?OrwasJolyonbuttakingcompassiononherloneliness，ashewouldcallit——sentimentalradicalchapthathehadalwaysbeen?Ifitwere，indeed，asPolteedhinted！Soamesstoodstill。Itcouldnotbe！Thefellowwassevenyearsolderthanhimself，nobetterlooking！Noricher！
Whatattractionhadhe?
’Besides，he’scomeback，’hethought；’thatdoesn’tlook——I’llgoandseehim！’and，takingoutacard，hewrote：”Ifyoucansparehalfanhoursomeafternoonthisweek，IshallbeattheConnoisseursanydaybetween5。30and6，orIcouldcometotheHotchPotchifyoupreferit。Iwanttoseeyou——S。F。”
HewalkedupSt。James’sStreetandconfidedittotheporterattheHotchPotch。”GiveMr。JolyonForsytethisassoonashecomesin，”hesaid，andtookoneofthenewmotorcabsintotheCity……
Jolyonreceivedthatcardthesameafternoon，andturnedhisfacetowardstheConnoisseurs。WhatdidSoameswantnow?HadhegotwindofParis?AndsteppingacrossSt。James’sStreet，hedeterminedtomakenosecretofhisvisit。’Butitwon’tdo，’hethought，’tolethimknowshe’sthere，unlessheknowsalready。’
InthiscomplicatedstateofmindhewasconductedtowhereSoameswasdrinkingteainasmallbay-window。”Notea，thanks，”saidJolyon，”butI’llgoonsmokingifImay。”
Thecurtainswerenotyetdrawn，thoughthelampsoutsidewerelighted；thetwocousinssatwaitingoneachother。”You’vebeeninParis，Ihear，”saidSoamesatlast。”Yes；justback。””YoungValtoldme；heandyourboyaregoingoff，then?”Jolyonnodded。”Youdidn’thappentoseeIrene，Isuppose。Itappearsshe’sabroadsomewhere。”
Jolyonwreathedhimselfinsmokebeforeheanswered：”Yes，Isawher。””Howwasshe?””Verywell。”
Therewasanothersilence；thenSoamesrousedhimselfinhischair。”WhenIsawyoulast，”hesaid，”Iwasintwominds。Wetalked，andyouexpressedyouropinion。Idon’twishtoreopenthatdiscussion。Ionlywantedtosaythis：Mypositionwithherisextremelydifficult。Idon’twantyoutogousingyourinfluenceagainstme。Whathappenedisaverylongtimeago。I’mgoingtoaskhertoletbygonesbebygones。””Youhaveaskedher，youknow，”murmuredJolyon。”Theideawasnewtoherthen；itcameasashock。Butthemoreshethinksofit，themoreshemustseethatit’stheonlywayoutforbothofus。””That’snotmyimpressionofherstateofmind，”saidJolyonwithparticularcalm。”And，forgivemysaying，youmisconceivethematterifyouthinkreasoncomesintoitatall。”
Hesawhiscousin’spalefacegrowpaler——hehadused，withoutknowingit，Irene’sownwords。”Thanks，”mutteredSoames，”butIseethingsperhapsmoreplainlythanyouthink。Ionlywanttobesurethatyouwon’ttrytoinfluenceheragainstme。””Idon’tknowwhatmakesyouthinkIhaveanyinfluence，”saidJolyon；”butifIhaveI’mboundtouseitinthedirectionofwhatIthinkisherhappiness。Iamwhattheycalla’feminist，’I
believe。””Feminist！”repeatedSoames，asifseekingtogaintime。”Doesthatmeanthatyou’reagainstme?””Bluntly，”saidJolyon，”I’magainstanywomanlivingwithanymanwhomshedefinitelydislikes。Itappearstomerotten。””AndIsupposeeachtimeyouseeheryouputyouropinionsintohermind。””Iamnotlikelytobeseeingher。””NotgoingbacktoParis?”