“Ididn’twanttocomehere，“hesaidatlast，“butIwaspositivelydriventoit……EvelynM。，“hegroaned。
Hesatup，andbegantoexplainwithmocksolemnityhowthedetestablewomanwassetuponmarryinghim。
“Shepursuesmeabouttheplace。Thismorningsheappearedinthesmoking-room。AllIcoulddowastoseizemyhatandfly。
Ididn’twanttocome，butIcouldn’tstayandfaceanothermealwithher。“
“Well，wemustmakethebestofit，“Helenrepliedphilosophically。
Itwasveryhot，andtheywereindifferenttoanyamountofsilence，sothattheylaybackintheirchairswaitingforsomethingtohappen。
Thebellrangforluncheon，buttherewasnosoundofmovementinthehouse。Wasthereanynews？Helenasked；anythinginthepapers？
St。Johnshookhishead。Oyes，hehadaletterfromhome，aletterfromhismother，describingthesuicideoftheparlour-maid。ShewascalledSusanJane，andshecameintothekitchenoneafternoon，andsaidthatshewantedcooktokeephermoneyforher；shehadtwentypoundsingold。Thenshewentouttobuyherselfahat。
Shecameinathalf-pastfiveandsaidthatshehadtakenpoison。
Theyhadonlyjusttimetogetherintobedandcalladoctorbeforeshedied。
“Well？“Helenenquired。
“There’llhavetobeaninquest，“saidSt。John。
Whyhadshedoneit？Heshruggedhisshoulders。Whydopeoplekillthemselves？Whydothelowerordersdoanyofthethingstheydodo？Nobodyknows。Theysatinsilence。
“Thebell’srunfifteenminutesandthey’renotdown，“saidHelenatlength。
Whentheyappeared，St。Johnexplainedwhyithadbeennecessaryforhimtocometoluncheon。HeimitatedEvelyn’senthusiastictoneassheconfrontedhiminthesmoking-room。“Shethinkstherecanbenothing_quite_sothrillingasmathematics，soI’velentheralargeworkintwovolumes。It’llbeinterestingtoseewhatshemakesofit。“
Rachelcouldnowaffordtolaughathim。SheremindedhimofGibbon；
shehadthefirstvolumesomewherestill；ifhewereundertakingtheeducationofEvelyn，thatsurelywasthetest；orshehadheardthatBurke，upontheAmericanRebellion——Evelynoughttoreadthembothsimultaneously。WhenSt。Johnhaddisposedofherargumentandhadsatisfiedhishunger，heproceededtotellthemthatthehotelwasseethingwithscandals，someofthemostappallingkind，whichhadhappenedintheirabsence；hewasindeedmuchgiventothestudyofhiskind。
“EvelynM。，forexample——butthatwastoldmeinconfidence。“
“Nonsense！“Terenceinterposed。
“You’veheardaboutpoorSinclair，too？“
“Oh，yes，I’veheardaboutSinclair。He’sretiredtohisminewitharevolver。HewritestoEvelyndailythathe’sthinkingofcommittingsuicide。I’veassuredherthathe’sneverbeensohappyinhislife，and，onthewhole，she’sinclinedtoagreewithme。“
“Butthenshe’sentangledherselfwithPerrott，“St。Johncontinued；
“andIhavereasontothink，fromsomethingIsawinthepassage，thateverythingisn’tasitshouldbebetweenArthurandSusan。
There’sayoungfemalelatelyarrivedfromManchester。Averygoodthingifitwerebrokenoff，inmyopinion。Theirmarriedlifeissomethingtoohorribletocontemplate。
Oh，andIdistinctlyheardoldMrs。PaleyrappingoutthemostfearfuloathsasIpassedherbedroomdoor。It’ssupposedthatshetortureshermaidinprivate——it’spracticallycertainshedoes。
Onecantellitfromthelookinhereyes。“
“Whenyou’reeightyandthegouttweezesyou，you’llbeswearinglikeatrooper，“Terenceremarked。“You’llbeveryfat，verytesty，verydisagreeable。Can’tyouimaginehim——baldasacoot，withapairofsponge-bagtrousers，alittlespottedtie，andacorporation？“
AfterapauseHirstremarkedthattheworstinfamyhadstilltobetold。HeaddressedhimselftoHelen。
“They’vehoofedouttheprostitute。OnenightwhilewewereawaythatoldnumskullThornburywasdodderingaboutthepassagesverylate。
(Nobodyseemstohaveaskedhimwhat_he_wasupto。)HesawtheSignoraLolaMendoza，asshecallsherself，crossthepassageinhernightgown。HecommunicatedhissuspicionsnextmorningtoElliot，withtheresultthatRodriguezwenttothewomanandgavehertwenty-fourhoursinwhichtoclearoutoftheplace。
Nooneseemstohaveenquiredintothetruthofthestory，ortohaveaskedThornburyandElliotwhatbusinessitwasoftheirs；
theyhaditentirelytheirownway。IproposethatweshouldallsignaRoundRobin，gotoRodriguezinabody，andinsistuponafullenquiry。Something’sgottobedone，don’tyouagree？“
Hewetremarkedthattherecouldbenodoubtastothelady’sprofession。
“Still，“headded，“it’sagreatshame，poorwoman；onlyIdon’tseewhat’stobedone——“
“Iquiteagreewithyou，St。John，“Helenburstout。“It’smonstrous。
ThehypocriticalsmugnessoftheEnglishmakesmybloodboil。
Amanwho’smadeafortuneintradeasMr。Thornburyhasisboundtobetwiceasbadasanyprostitute。“
SherespectedSt。John’smorality，whichshetookfarmoreseriouslythananyoneelsedid，andnowenteredintoadiscussionwithhimastothestepsthatweretobetakentoenforcetheirpeculiarviewofwhatwasright。Theargumentledtosomeprofoundlygloomystatementsofageneralnature。Whowerethey，afterall——
whatauthorityhadthey——whatpoweragainstthemassofsuperstitionandignorance？ItwastheEnglish，ofcourse；theremustbesomethingwrongintheEnglishblood。DirectlyyoumetanEnglishperson，ofthemiddleclasses，youwereconsciousofanindefinablesensationofloathing；directlyyousawthebrowncrescentofhousesaboveDover，thesamethingcameoveryou。ButunfortunatelySt。Johnadded，youcouldn’ttrusttheseforeigners——
Theywereinterruptedbysoundsofstrifeatthefurtherendofthetable。Rachelappealedtoheraunt。
“TerencesayswemustgototeawithMrs。Thornburybecauseshe’sbeensokind，butIdon’tseeit；infact，I’dratherhavemyrighthandsawninpieces——justimagine！theeyesofallthosewomen！“
“Fiddlesticks，Rachel，“Terencereplied。“Whowantstolookatyou？
You’reconsumedwithvanity！You’reamonsterofconceit！
Surely，Helen，yououghttohavetaughtherbythistimethatshe’sapersonofnoconceivableimportancewhatever——notbeautiful，orwelldressed，orconspicuousforeleganceorintellect，ordeportment。Amoreordinarysightthanyouare，“heconcluded，“exceptforthetearacrossyourdresshasneverbeenseen。
However，stayathomeifyouwantto。I’mgoing。“
Sheappealedagaintoheraunt。Itwasn’tthebeinglookedat，sheexplained，butthethingspeopleweresuretosay。Thewomeninparticular。
Shelikedwomen，butwhereemotionwasconcernedtheywereasfliesonalumpofsugar。Theywouldbecertaintoaskherquestions。
EvelynM。wouldsay:“Areyouinlove？Isitnicebeinginlove？“
AndMrs。Thornbury——hereyeswouldgoupanddown，upanddown——
sheshudderedatthethoughtofit。Indeed，theretirementoftheirlifesincetheirengagementhadmadehersosensitive，thatshewasnotexaggeratinghercase。
ShefoundanallyinHelen，whoproceededtoexpoundherviewsofthehumanrace，assheregardedwithcomplacencythepyramidofvariegatedfruitsinthecentreofthetable。Itwasn’tthattheywerecruel，ormeanttohurt，orevenstupidexactly；
butshehadalwaysfoundthattheordinarypersonhadsolittleemotioninhisownlifethatthescentofitinthelivesofotherswaslikethescentofbloodinthenostrilsofabloodhound。
Warmingtothetheme，shecontinued:
“Directlyanythinghappens——itmaybeamarriage，orabirth，oradeath——onthewholetheypreferittobeadeath——everyonewantstoseeyou。Theyinsistuponseeingyou。They’vegotnothingtosay；theydon’tcarearapforyou；butyou’vegottogotolunchortoteaortodinner，andifyoudon’tyou’redamned。
It’sthesmellofblood，“shecontinued；“Idon’tblame’em；onlytheyshan’thavemindifIknowit！“
Shelookedaboutherasifshehadcalledupalegionofhumanbeings，allhostileandalldisagreeable，whoencircledthetable，withmouthsgapingforblood，andmadeitappearalittleislandofneutralcountryinthemidstoftheenemy’scountry。
Herwordsrousedherhusband，whohadbeenmutteringrhythmicallytohimself，surveyinghisguestsandhisfoodandhiswifewitheyesthatwerenowmelancholyandnowfierce，accordingtothefortunesoftheladyinhisballad。HecutHelenshortwithaprotest。
Hehatedeventhesemblanceofcynicisminwomen。“Nonsense，nonsense，“
heremarkedabruptly。
TerenceandRachelglancedateachotheracrossthetable，whichmeantthatwhentheyweremarriedtheywouldnotbehavelikethat。
TheentranceofRidleyintotheconversationhadastrangeeffect。
Itbecameatoncemoreformalandmorepolite。Itwouldhavebeenimpossibletotalkquiteeasilyofanythingthatcameintotheirheads，andtosaythewordprostituteassimplyasanyotherword。
Thetalknowturneduponliteratureandpolitics，andRidleytoldstoriesofthedistinguishedpeoplehehadknowninhisyouth。
Suchtalkwasofthenatureofanart，andthepersonalitiesandinformalitiesoftheyoungweresilenced。Astheyrosetogo，Helenstoppedforamoment，leaningherelbowsonthetable。
“You’veallbeensittinghere，“shesaid，“foralmostanhour，andyouhaven’tnoticedmyfigs，ormyflowers，orthewaythelightcomesthrough，oranything。Ihaven’tbeenlistening，becauseI’vebeenlookingatyou。Youlookedverybeautiful；
Iwishyou’dgoonsittingforever。“
Sheledthewaytothedrawing-room，whereshetookupherembroidery，andbeganagaintodissuadeTerencefromwalkingdowntothehotelinthisheat。Butthemoreshedissuaded，themorehewasdeterminedtogo。Hebecameirritatedandobstinate。
Thereweremomentswhentheyalmostdislikedeachother。
Hewantedotherpeople；hewantedRachel，toseethemwithhim。
HesuspectedthatMrs。Ambrosewouldnowtrytodissuadeherfromgoing。Hewasannoyedbyallthisspaceandshadeandbeauty，andHirst，recumbent，droopingamagazinefromhiswrist。
“I’mgoing，“herepeated。“Rachelneedn’tcomeunlessshewantsto。“
“Ifyougo，Hewet，Iwishyou’dmakeenquiriesabouttheprostitute，“
saidHirst。“Lookhere，“headded，“I’llwalkhalfthewaywithyou。“
Greatlytotheirsurpriseheraisedhimself，lookedathiswatch，andremarkedthat，asitwasnowhalfanhoursinceluncheon，thegastricjuiceshadhadsufficienttimetosecrete；hewastryingasystem，heexplained，whichinvolvedshortspellsofexerciseinterspacedbylongerintervalsofrest。
“Ishallbebackatfour，“heremarkedtoHelen，“whenIshallliedownonthesofaandrelaxallmymusclescompletely。“
“Soyou’regoing，Rachel？“Helenasked。“Youwon’tstaywithme？“
Shesmiled，butshemighthavebeensad。
Wasshesad，orwasshereallylaughing？Rachelcouldnottell，andshefeltforthemomentveryuncomfortablebetweenHelenandTerence。
Thensheturnedaway，sayingmerelythatshewouldgowithTerence，onconditionthathedidallthetalking。
Anarrowborderofshadowranalongtheroad，whichwasbroadenoughfortwo，butnotbroadenoughforthree。St。Johnthereforedroppedalittlebehindthepair，andthedistancebetweenthemincreasedbydegrees。Walkingwithaviewtodigestion，andwithoneeyeuponhiswatch，helookedfromtimetotimeatthepairinfrontofhim。Theyseemedtobesohappy，sointimate，althoughtheywerewalkingsidebysidemuchasotherpeoplewalk。
Theyturnedslightlytowardeachothernowandthen，andsaidsomethingwhichhethoughtmustbesomethingveryprivate。
