The Forsyte Saga John Galsworthy (hot novels to read TXT) đ
- Author: John Galsworthy
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âWill you sayâ âMr. Forsyte, on a very special matter.â
If she realised who he was, quite probably she would not see him. âBy George!â he thought, hardening as the tug came. âItâs a topsy-turvy affair!â
The maid came back. âWould the gentleman state his business, please?â
âSay it concerns Mr. Jon,â said Soames.
And once more he was alone in that hall with the pool of grey-white marble designed by her first lover. Ah! she had been a bad lotâ âhad loved two men, and not himself! He must remember that when he came face to face with her once more. And suddenly he saw her in the opening chink between the long heavy purple curtains, swaying, as if in hesitation; the old perfect poise and line, the old startled dark-eyed gravity, the old calm defensive voice: âWill you come in, please?â
He passed through that opening. As in the picture-gallery and the confectionerâs shop, she seemed to him still beautiful. And this was the first timeâ âthe very firstâ âsince he married her seven-and-thirty years ago, that he was speaking to her without the legal right to call her his. She was not wearing blackâ âone of that fellowâs radical notions, he supposed.
âI apologise for coming,â he said glumly; âbut this business must be settled one way or the other.â
âWonât you sit down?â
âNo, thank you.â
Anger at his false position, impatience of ceremony between them, mastered him, and words came tumbling out:
âItâs an infernal mischance; Iâve done my best to discourage it. I consider my daughter crazy, but Iâve got into the habit of indulging her; thatâs why Iâm here. I suppose youâre fond of your son.â
âDevotedly.â
âWell?â
âIt rests with him.â
He had a sense of being met and baffled. Alwaysâ âalways she had baffled him, even in those old first married days.
âItâs a mad notion,â he said.
âIt is.â
âIf you had onlyâ â! Wellâ âthey might have beenâ ââ he did not finish that sentence âbrother and sister and all this saved,â but he saw her shudder as if he had, and stung by the sight he crossed over to the window. Out there the trees had not grownâ âthey couldnât, they were old!
âSo far as Iâm concerned,â he said, âyou may make your mind easy. I desire to see neither you nor your son if this marriage comes about. Young people in these days areâ âare unaccountable. But I canât bear to see my daughter unhappy. What am I to say to her when I go back?â
âPlease say to her as I said to you, that it rests with Jon.â
âYou donât oppose it?â
âWith all my heart; not with my lips.â
Soames stood, biting his finger.
âI remember an eveningâ ââ he said suddenly; and was silent. What was thereâ âwhat was there in this woman that would not fit into the four corners of his hate or condemnation? âWhere is heâ âyour son?â
âUp in his fatherâs studio, I think.â
âPerhaps youâd have him down.â
He watched her ring the bell, he watched the maid come in.
âPlease tell Mr. Jon that I want him.â
âIf it rests with him,â said Soames hurriedly, when the maid was gone, âI suppose I may take it for granted that this unnatural marriage will take place; in that case thereâll be formalities. Whom do I deal withâ âHerringâs?â
Irene nodded.
âYou donât propose to live with them?â
Irene shook her head.
âWhat happens to this house?â
âIt will be as Jon wishes.â
âThis house,â said Soames suddenly: âI had hopes when I began it. If they live in itâ âtheir children! They say thereâs such a thing as Nemesis. Do you believe in it?â
âYes.â
âOh! You do!â
He had come back from the window, and was standing close to her, who, in the curve of her grand piano, was, as it were, embayed.
âIâm not likely to see you again,â he said slowly. âWill you shake handsââ âhis lip quivered, the words came out jerkilyâ ââand let the past die.â He held out his hand. Her pale face grew paler, her eyes so dark, rested immovably on his, her hands remained clasped in front of her. He heard a sound and turned. That boy was standing in the opening of the curtains. Very queer he looked, hardly recognisable as the young fellow he had seen in the Gallery off Cork Streetâ âvery queer; much older, no youth in the face at allâ âhaggard, rigid, his hair ruffled, his eyes deep in his head. Soames made an effort, and said with a lift of his lip, not quite a smile nor quite a
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