The Forsyte Saga, Volume 2 (63 page)

D
EAR
M
ADAM
,

We regret to say that Cuthcott Kingson & Forsyte have refused to give the apology we asked for, and withdrawn their verbal offer
in toto
. We presume, therefore, that the action must go forward. We have every hope, however, that they may reconsider the matter before it comes into Court.

Your obedient servants,

S
ETTLE WHITE
& S
TARK
.

She dropped it and sat very still, staring at a little hard line on the right side of her mouth and a little hard line on the left.…

Francis Wilmot, flying, thought of steamship lines and state-rooms, of registrars and rings. An hour ago he had despaired; now it seemed he had always known she was ‘too fine not to
give up this fellow whom she didn't love'. He would make her the queen of South Carolina – he surely would! But if she didn't like it out there, he would sell the ‘old home', and they would go and live where she wished – in Venice; he had heard her say Venice was wonderful; or New York, or Sicily; with her he wouldn't care! And London in the cold dry wind seemed beautiful, no longer a grey maze of unreality and shadows, but a city where you could buy rings and steamship passages. The wind cut him like a knife and he did not feel it. That poor devil MacGown! He hated the sight, the thought of him, and yet felt sorry, thinking of him with the cup dashed from his lips. And all the days, weeks, months himself had spent circling round the flame, his wings scorched and drooping, seemed now but the natural progress of the soul towards Paradise. Twenty-four – his age and hers; an eternity of bliss before them! He pictured her on the porch at home. Horses! A better car than the old Ford! The darkies would adore her – kind of grand, and so white! To walk with her among the azaleas in the spring, that he could smell already; no – it was his hands where he had touched her! He shivered, and resumed his flight under the bare trees, well-nigh alone in the east wind; the stars of a bitter night shining.

A card was handed to him as he entered his hotel.

‘Mr Wilmot, a gentleman to see you.'

Sir Alexander was seated in a corner of the lounge, with a crush hat in his hand. He rose and came towards Francis Wilmot, grim and square.

‘I've been meaning to call on you for some time, Mr Wilmot.'

‘Yes sir. May I offer you a cocktail, or a glass of sherry?'

‘No, thank you. You are aware of my engagement to Miss Ferrar?'

‘I was, sir.'

This red aggressive face, with its stiff moustache and burning eyes, revived his hatred; so that he no longer felt sorry.

‘You know that I very much object to your constant visits to that young lady. In this country it is not the part of a gentleman to pursue an engaged young woman.'

‘That,' said Francis Wilmot coolly, ‘is for Miss Ferrar herself to say.'

MacGown's face grew even redder.

‘If you hadn't been an American, I should have warned you to keep clear a long time ago.'

Francis Wilmot bowed.

‘Well! Are you going to?'

‘Permit me to decline an answer.'

MacGown thrust forward his face.

‘I've told you,' he said. ‘If you trespass any more, look out for yourself.'

‘Thank you; I will,' said Francis Wilmot softly.

MacGown stood for a moment swaying slightly. Was he going to hit out? Francis Wilmot put his hands into his trouser pockets.

‘You've had your warning,' said MacGown, and turned on his heel.

‘Good-night!' said Francis Wilmot to that square receding back. He had been gentle, he had been polite, but he hated the fellow, yes, indeed! Save for the triumphal glow within him, there might have been a fuss!

PHOTOGRAPHY

S
UMMONED
to the annual Christmas covert-shooting at Lippinghall, Michael found there two practical politicians and one member of the Government.

In the mullion-windowed smoking-room, where men retired, and women too sometimes, into chairs old, soft, leathery, the ball of talk was lightly tossed, and naught so devastating as Foggartism mentioned. But in odd minutes and half-hours Michael gained insight into political realities, and respect for practical
politicians. Even on this holiday they sat up late, got up early, wrote letters, examined petitions, dipped into Blue Books. They were robust, ate heartily, took their liquor like men, never seemed fatigued. They shaved clean, looked healthy, and shot badly with enjoyment. The member of the Government played golf instead, and Fleur went round with him. Michael learned the lesson: have so much on your mind that you have practically nothing in it; no time to pet your schemes, fancies, feelings. Carry on, and be careful that you don't know to what end.

As for Foggartism, they didn't – à
la Evening Sun
– pooh-pooh it; they merely asked, as Michael had often asked himself: ‘Yes, but how are you going to work it? Your scheme might be very good, if it didn't hit people's pockets. Any addition to the price of living is out of the question – the country's taxed up to the hilt. Your Foggartism's going to need money in every direction. You may swear till you're blue in the face that ten or twenty years hence it'll bring fivefold return; nobody will listen. You may say: “Without it we're all going to the devil”; but we're accustomed to that – some people think we're there already, and they resent its being said. Others, especially manufacturers, believe what they want to. They can't bear anyone who cries “stinking fish”, whatever his object. Talk about reviving trade, and less taxation, or offer more wages and talk of a capital levy, and, according to Party, we shall believe you've done the trick – until we find you haven't. But you're talking of less trade and more taxation in the present with a view to a better future. Great Scott! In politics you can shuffle the cards, but you mustn't add or substract. People only react to immediate benefit, or, as in the war, to imminent danger. You must cut out sensationalism.'

In short, they were intelligent, and completely fatalistic.

After these quiet talks, Michael understood, much better than before, the profession of politics. He was greatly attracted by the member of the Government; his personality was modest, his manner pleasant, he had Departmental ideas, and was doing his best with his own job according to those ideas; if he had others
he kept them to himself. He seemed to admire Fleur, and he listened better than the other two. He said, too, some things they hadn't. ‘Of course, what we're able to do may be found so inadequate that there'll be a great journalistic outcry, and under cover of it we may bring in some sweeping measures that people will swallow before they know what they're in for.'

‘The Press,' said Michael; ‘I don't see them helping.'

‘Well! It's the only voice there is. If you could get fast hold of the vociferous papers, you might even put Foggartism over. What you're really up against is the slow town growth of the last hundred and fifty years, an ingrained state of mind which can only see England in terms of industrialism and the carrying trade. And in the town-mind, of course, hope springs eternal. They don't like calamity talk. Some genuinely think we can go on indefinitely on the old lines, and get more and more prosperous into the bargain. Personally, I don't. It's possible that much of what old Foggart advocates may be adopted bit by bit, even child emigration, from sheer practical necessity; but it won't be called Foggartism. Inventor's luck!
He'll
get no credit for being the first to see it. And,' added the Minister gloomily, ‘by the time it's adopted, it'll probably be too late.'

Receiving the same day a request for an interview from a Press syndicate whose representative would come down to suit his convenience, Michael made the appointment, and prepared an elaborate exposition of his faith. The representative, however, turned out to be a camera, and a photograph entitled: ‘The Member for mid-Bucks expounding Foggartism to our Representative,' became the only record of it. The camera was active. It took a family group in front of the porch: ‘Right to left, Mr Michael Mont, M.P., Lady Mont, Mrs Michael Mont, Sir Lawrence Mont, Bt.' It took Fleur: ‘Mrs Michael Mont, with Kit and Dandie.' It took the Jacobean wing. It took the Minister, with his pipe, ‘enjoying a Christmas rest'. It took a corner of the walled garden: ‘In the grounds'. It then had lunch. After lunch it took the whole house-party: ‘At Sir Lawrence Mont's, Lippinghall Manor, Bucks'; with the Minister on Lady Mont's right and the Minister's wife on Sir Lawrence's left. This photograph
would have turned out better if the Dandie, inadvertently left out, had not made a sudden onslaught on the camera legs. It took a photograph of Fleur alone: ‘Mrs Michael Mont – a charming young Society hostess.' It understood that Michael was making an interesting practical experiment – could it take Foggartism in action? Michael grinned and said: ‘Yes, if it would take a walk, too.'

They departed for the coppice. The colony was in its normal state – Boddick, with two of the contractor's men cheering him on, was working at the construction of the incubator-house; Swain, smoking a cigarette, was reading the
Daily Mail
; Bergfeld was sitting with his head in his hands, and Mrs Bergfeld was washing up.

The camera took three photographs. Michael, who had noted that Bergfeld had begun shaking, suggested to the camera that it would miss its train. It at once took a final photograph of Michael in front of the hut, two cups of tea at the Manor, and its departure.

As Michael was going upstairs that night, the butler came to him.

‘The man Boddick's in the pantry, Mr Michael; I'm afraid something's happened, sir.'

‘Oh!' said Michael blankly.

Where Michael had spent many happy hours, when he was young, was Boddick, his pale face running with sweat, and his dark eyes very alive.

‘The German's gone, sir.'

‘Gone?'

‘Hanged hisself. The woman's in an awful state. I cut him down and sent Swain to the village.'

‘Good God! Hanged! But why?'

‘He's been very funny these last three days; and that camera upset him properly. Will you come, sir?'

They set out with a lantern, Boddick telling his tale.

‘As soon as ever you was gone this afternoon he started to shake and carry on about having been made game of. I told ‘im not to be a fool, and went out to get on with it. But when I
came in to tea, he was still shakin', and talkin' about his honour and his savin's; Swain had got fed up and was jeerin' at him, and Mrs Bergfeld was as white as a ghost in the corner. I told Swain to shut his head; and Fritz simmered down after a bit, and sat humped up as he does for hours together. Mrs Bergfeld got our tea. I had some chores to finish, so I went out after. When I come in at seven, they was at it again hammer and tongs, and Mrs Bergfeld cryin' fit to bust her heart. “Can't you see,” I said, “how you're upsettin' your wife?” “Henry Boddick,” he said, “I've nothing against
you
, you've always been decent to me. But this Swain,” he said, “‘is name is Swine!” and he took up the bread-knife. I got it away from him, and spoke him calm. “Ah!” he said, “but
you've
no pride.” Swain was lookin' at him with that sort o' droop in his mouth he's got. “Pride,” he says, “you silly blighter, what call ‘ave
you
to ‘ave any pride?” Well, I see that while we was there he wasn't goin' to get any better, so I took Swain off for a glass at the pub. When we came back at ten o'clock, Swain went straight to bed, and I went into the mess-room, where I found his wife alone. “Has he gone to bed?” I said. “No,” she said, “he's gone out to cool his head. Oh! Henry Boddick,” she said, “I don't know what to do with him!” We sat there a bit, she tellin' me about ‘im brooding, and all that – nice woman she is, too; till suddenly she said: “Henry Boddick,” she said, “I'm frightened. Why don't he come?” We went out to look for him, and where d'you think he was, sir? You know that big tree we're just goin' to have down? There's a ladder against it, and the guidin' rope all fixed. He'd climbed up that ladder in the moonlight, put the rope round his neck, and jumped off; and there he was, six feet from the ground, dead as a duck. I roused up Swain, and we got him in, and – Well, we ‘ad a proper time! Poor woman, I'm sorry for her, sir – though really I think it's just as well he's gone – he couldn't get upsides with it, anyhow. That camera chap would have given something for a shot at what we saw there in the moonlight.'

‘Foggartism in action!' thought Michael bitterly. ‘So endeth the First Lesson!'

The hut looked lonely in the threading moonlight and the bitter wind. Inside, Mrs Bergfeld was kneeling beside the body placed on the deal table, with a handkerchief over its face. Michael put a hand on her shoulder. She gave him a wild look, bowed her head again, and her lips began moving. ‘Prayer!' thought Michael. ‘Catholic – of course!' He took Boddick aside. ‘Don't let her see Swain. I'll talk to him.'