To Let - John Galsworthy (13 inch ebook reader .txt) 📗
- Author: John Galsworthy
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Turn Out Well. Could It Turn Out Well? She Had Not Got Over That Other
Boy--He Knew. They Were To Go To Spain For The Honeymoon. He Would Be
Even Lonelier When She Was Gone. But Later, Perhaps, She Would Forget,
And Turn To Him Again!
Winifred's Voice Broke On His Reverie.
"Why! Of All Wonders--June!"
There, In A Djibbah--What Things She Wore!--With Her Hair Straying From
Under A Fillet, Soames Saw His Cousin, And Fleur Going Forward To Greet
Her. The Two Passed From Their View Out On To The Stairway.
Part III X (Fleur's Wedding) Pg 129"Really," Said Winifred, "She Does The Most Impossible Things! Fancy
Her Coming!"
"What Made You Ask Her?" Muttered Soames.
"Because I Thought She Wouldn't Accept, Of Course."
Winifred Had Forgotten That Behind Conduct Lies The Main Trend Of
Character; Or, In Other Words, Omitted To Remember That Fleur Was Now A
"Lame Duck."
On Receiving Her Invitation, June Had First Thought: 'I Wouldn't Go
Near Them For The World!' And Then, One Morning, Had Awakened From A
Dream Of Fleur Waving To Her From A Boat With A Wild Unhappy Gesture.
And She Had Changed Her Mind.
When Fleur Came Forward And Said To Her:
"Do Come Up While I'm Changing My Dress"; She Had Followed Up The
Stairs. The Girl Led The Way Into Imogen's Old Bedroom, Set Ready For
Her Toilet.
June Sat Down On The Bed, Thin And Upright, Like A Little Spirit In The
Sere And Yellow. Fleur Locked The Door.
The Girl Stood Before Her Divested Of Her Wedding-Dress. What A Pretty
Thing She Was!
"I Suppose You Think Me A Fool," She Said, With Quivering Lips, "When
It Was To Have Been Jon. But What Does It Matter? Michael Wants Me, And
I Don't Care. It'll Get Me Away From Home." Diving Her Hand Into The
Frills On Her Breast, She Brought Out A Letter. "Jon Wrote Me This."
June Read: "Lake Okanagen, British Columbia.
Part III X (Fleur's Wedding) Pg 130I'm Not Coming Back To
England. Bless You Always. Jon."
"She's Made Safe, You See," Said Fleur.
June Handed Back The Letter.
"That's Not Fair To Irene; She Always Told Jon He Could Do As He
Wished."
Fleur Smiled Bitterly. "Didn't She Spoil Your Life Too?"
"Nobody Can Spoil A Life, My Dear. That's Nonsense. Things Happen, But
We Bob Up."
Then With A Sort Of Terror She Saw The Girl Sink On Her Knees And Bury
Her Face In The Djibbah, With A Strangled Sob.
"It's All Right--All Right," June Murmured: "Don't! There, There!"
But The Point Of The Girl's Chin Was Pressed Ever Closer Into Her
Thigh, And The Sound Was Dreadful Of Her Sobbing. Well, Well! It Had To
Come. She Would Feel Better Afterwards! June Stroked The Short Hair Of
That Shapely Head And All The Scattered Mother-Sense In Her Focussed
Itself And Passed Through The Tips Of Her Fingers Into The Girl's Brain.
"Don't Sit Down Under It, My Dear," She Said At Last. "We Can't Control
Life, But We Can Fight It. Make The Best Of Things.
Part III X (Fleur's Wedding) Pg 131I've Had To. I Held
On, Like You; And I Cried, As You're Crying Now. And Look At Me!"
Fleur Raised Her Head; A Sob Merged Suddenly Into A Little Choked
Laugh. In Truth It Was A Thin And Rather Wild And Wasted Spirit She Was
Looking At, But It Had Brave Eyes.
"All Right!" She Said. "I'm Sorry. I Shall Forget Him, I Suppose, If I
Fly Fast And Far Enough."
And, Scrambling To Her Feet, She Went Over To The Washstand.
June Watched Her Removing With Cold Water The Traces Of Emotion. Save
For A Little Becoming Pinkness There Was Nothing Left When She Stood
Before The Mirror. June Got Off The Bed And Took A Pin-Cushion In Her
Hand. To Put Two Pins Into The Wrong Places Was All The Vent She Found
For Sympathy.
"Give Me A Kiss," She Said When Fleur Was Ready, And Dug Her Chin Into
The Girl's Warm Cheek.
"I Want A Whiff," Said Fleur; "Don't Wait."
June Left Her, Sitting On The Bed With A Cigarette Between Her Lips And
Her Eyes Half Closed, And Went Down-Stairs. In The Doorway Of The
Drawing-Room Stood Soames As If Unquiet At His Daughter's Tardiness.
June Tossed Her Head And Passed Down On To The Half Landing. Her Cousin
Francie Was Standing There.
Part III X (Fleur's Wedding) Pg 132"Look!" Said June, Pointing With Her Chin At Soames. "That Man's Fatal!"
"How Do You Mean," Said Francie, "Fatal?"
June Did Not Answer Her. "I Shan't Wait To See Them Off," She Said.
"Good-Bye!"
"Good-Bye!" And Francie's Eyes, Of A Celtic Grey, Goggled. That Old
Feud! Really, It Was Quite Romantic!
Soames, Moving To The Well Of The Staircase, Saw June Go, And Drew A
Breath Of Satisfaction. But Why Didn't Fleur Come? They Would Miss
Their Train. That Train Would Bear Her Away From Him, Yet He Could Not
Help Fidgeting At The Thought That They Would Lose It. And Then She Did
Come, Running Down In Her Tan-Coloured Frock And Black Velvet Cap, And
Passed Him Into The Drawing-Room. He Saw Her Kiss Her Mother, Her Aunt,
Val's Wife, Imogen, And Then Come Forth, Quick And Pretty As Ever. How
Would She Treat Him At This Last Moment Of Her Girlhood? He Couldn't
Hope For Much!
Her Lips Pressed The Middle Of His Cheek.
"Daddy!" She Said, And Was Past And Gone. Daddy! She Hadn't Called Him
That For Years. He Drew A Long Breath And Followed Slowly Down. There
Was All The Folly With That Confetti Stuff And The Rest Of It To Go
Through With, Yet. But He Would Like Just To Catch Her Smile, If She
Leaned Out, Though They Would Hit Her In The Eye With The Shoe, If They
Didn't Take Care. Young Mont's Voice Said Fervently In His Ear:
"Good-Bye, Sir; And Thank You! I'm So Fearfully Bucked."
"Good-Bye," He Said; "Don't Miss Your Train."
He Stood On The Bottom Step But Three, Whence He Could See Above The
Heads--The Silly Hats And Heads. They Were In The Car Now; And There
Was That Stuff, Showering, And There Went The Shoe.
Part III X (Fleur's Wedding) Pg 133A Flood Of
Something Welled Up In Soames, And--He Didn't Know--He Couldn't See!
Part III XI (The Last Of The Forsytes) Pg 134
When They Came To Prepare That Terrific Symbol Timothy Forsyte--The One
Pure Individualist Left, The Only Man Who Hadn't Heard Of The Great
War--They Found Him Wonderful--Not Even Death Had Undermined His
Soundness.
To Smither And Cook That Preparation Came Like Final Evidence Of What
They Had Never Believed Possible--The End Of The Old Forsyte Family On
Earth. Poor Mr. Timothy Must Now Take A Harp And Sing In The Company Of
Miss Forsyte, Mrs. Julia, Miss Hester; With Mr. Jolyon, Mr. Swithin,
Mr. James, Mr. Roger, And Mr. Nicholas Of The Party. Whether Mrs.
Hayman Would Be There Was More Doubtful, Seeing That She Had Been
Cremated. Secretly Cook Thought That Mr. Timothy Would Be Upset--He Had
Always Been So Set Against Barrel Organs. How Many Times Had She Not
Said: "Drat The Thing! There It Is Again! Smither, You'd Better Run Up
And See What You Can Do." And In Her Heart She Would So Have Enjoyed
The Tunes, If She Hadn't Known That Mr. Timothy Would Ring The Bell In
A Minute And Say: "Here, Take Him A Halfpenny And Tell Him To Move On."
Often They Had Been Obliged To Add Threepence Of Their Own Before The
Man Would Go--Timothy Had Ever Underrated The Value Of Emotion. Luckily
He Had Taken The Organs For Blue-Bottles In His Last Years, Which Had
Been A Comfort, And They Had Been Able To Enjoy The Tunes. But A Harp!
Cook Wondered. It Was A Change! And Mr. Timothy Had Never Liked Change.
But She Did Not Speak Of This To Smither, Who Did So Take A Line Of Her
Own In Regard To Heaven That It Quite Put One About Sometimes.
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