第23章

Theaffairwasimmenselyseriousandcommandingtome。Idon’trememberthatintheseearlierphasesIhadanythoughtofturningbackatall。ItwascleartomethatsheregardedmewithaneyeentirelymorecriticalthanIhadforher，thatshedidn’tlikemyscholarlyuntidiness，mywantofeventhemostcommonplacestyle。“Whydoyouwearcollarslikethat？”shesaid，andsentmeinpursuitofgentlemanlyneckwear。IrememberwhensheinvitedmealittleabruptlyonedaytocometoteaatherhomeonthefollowingSundayandmeetherfatherandmotherandaunt，thatIimmediatelydoubtedwhethermyhithertounsuspectedbestclotheswouldcreatetheimpressionshedesiredmetomakeonherbelongings。IputofftheencounteruntiltheSundayafter，togetmyselfinorder。IhadamorningcoatmadeandIboughtasilkhat，andhadmyrewardinthefirstglanceofadmirationsheevergaveme。Iwonderhowmanyofmysexareaspreposterous。Iwas，yousee，abandoningallmybeliefs，myconventionsunasked。Iwasforgettingmyselfimmensely。Andtherewasaconsciousshameinitall。Neveraword——didI

breathetoEwart——toanylivingsoulofwhatwasgoingon。

Herfatherandmotherandauntstruckmeasthedismalestofpeople，andherhomeinWalhamGreenwaschieflynotableforitsblackandambertapestrycarpetsandcurtainsandtable-cloths，andtheageandirrelevanceofitsbooks，mostlybookswithfadedgiltonthecovers。Thewindowswerefortifiedagainsttheintrusiveeyebycheaplacecurtainsandan“artpot“uponanunstableoctagonaltable。SeveralframedArtSchooldrawingsofMarion’s，bearingofficialSouthKensingtonmarksofapproval，adornedtheroom，andtherewasablackandgiltpianowithahymn-bookonthetopofit。Thereweredrapedmirrorsoverallthemantels，andabovethesideboardinthedining-roominwhichwesatatteawasaportraitofherfather，villainouslytruthfulafterthemannerofsuchworks。Icouldn’tseeatraceofthebeautyIfoundinherineitherparent，yetshesomehowcontrivedtobelikethemboth。

ThesepeoplepretendedinawaythatremindedmeoftheThreeGreatWomeninmymother’sroom，buttheyhadnotnearlysomuchsocialknowledgeanddidnotdoitnearlysowell。Also，I

remarked，theydiditwithaneyeonMarion。Theyhadwantedtothankme，theysaid，forthekindnesstotheirdaughterinthematterofthe’busfare，andsoaccountedforanythingunusualintheirinvitation。Theyposedassimplegentlefolk，alittlehostiletotherushandgadding-aboutofLondon，preferringasecludedandunpretentiousquiet。

WhenMariongotoutthewhitetable-clothfromthesideboard-drawerfortea，acardbearingtheword“APARTMENTS“

felltothefloor。IpickeditupandgaveittoherbeforeI

realisedfromherquickenedcolourthatIshouldnothaveseenit；thatprobablyhadbeenremovedfromthewindowinhonourofmycoming。

Herfatherspokeonceinalargeremotewayofheclaimsofbusinessengagements，anditwasonlylongafterwardsIrealisedthathewasasupernumeraryclerkintheWalhamGreenGasWorksandotherwiseausefulmanathome。Hewasalarge，loose，fatt