A heavy sky seemed to cover the world with the grey whiteness of a whitewashed ceiling. There was no freshness or fragrance in the air. On such a day even British workmen scarcely cared to do more then they were obliged, and moved about their business without the drone of talk which whiles away the pangs of labour.
Through spaces of the unfinished house, shirt-sleeved figures worked slowly, and sounds arose--spasmodic knockings, the scraping of metal, the sawing of wood, with the rumble of wheelbarrows along boards; now and again the foreman's dog, tethered by a string to an oaken beam, whimpered feebly, with a sound like the singing of a kettle.
The fresh-fitted window-panes, daubed each with a white patch in the centre, stared out at James like the eyes of a blind dog. And the building chorus went on, strident and mirthless under the grey-white sky. But the thrushes, hunting amongst the fresh-
turned earth for worms, were silent quite.
James picked his way among the heaps of gravel--the drive was being laid--till he came opposite the porch. Here he stopped and raised his eyes. There was but little to see from this point of view, and that little he took in at once; but he stayed in this position many minutes, and who shall know of what he thought.
His china-blue eyes under white eyebrows that jutted out in little horns, never stirred; the long upper lip of his wide mouth, between the fine white whiskers, twitched once or twice; it was easy to see from that anxious rapt expression, whence Soames derived the
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handicapped look which sometimes came upon his face. James might have been saying to himself: 'I don't know--life's a tough job.'
In this position Bosinney surprised him.
James brought his eyes down from whatever bird's-nest they had been looking for in the sky to Bosinney's face, on which was a kind
of humorous scorn.
"How do you do, Mr. Forsyte? Come down to see for yourself ?"
It was exactly what James, as we know, had come for, and he was made correspondingly uneasy. He held out his hand, however, say-ing:
"How are you?" without looking at Bosinney.
The latter made way for him with an ironical smile.
James scented something suspicious in this courtesy. "I should like to walk round the outside first," he said, "and see what you've been doing!"
A flagged terrace of rounded stones with a list of two or three inches to port had been laid round the southeast and south-west sides of the house, and ran with a bevelled edge into mould, which was in preparation for being turfed; along this terrace James led the way.
"Now what did this cost?" he asked, when he saw the terrace extending round the corner. "What should you think?" inquired Bosinney.
"How should I know?" replied James somewhat nonplussed; "two or three hundred, I dare say!" "The exact sum!"
James gave him a sharp look, but the architect appeared unconscious, and he put the answer down to mishearing.
On arriving at the garden entrance, he stopped to look at the view. "That ought to come down," he said, pointing to the oaktree.
"You think so? You think that with the tree there you don't get enough view for your money."
Again James eyed him suspiciously--this young man had a peculiar way of putting things: "Well!" he said, with a perplexed, nervous,
emphasis, "I don't see what you want with a tree." "It shall come down tomorrow," said Bosinney.
James was alarmed. "Oh," he said, "don't go saying I said it was to come down! I know nothing about it!" "No?"
James went on in a fluster: "Why, what should I know about it? It's nothing to do with me! You do it on your own responsibility." "You'll allow me to mention your name?"
James grew more and more alarmed: "I don't know what you want mentioning my name for," he muttered; "you'd better leave the
tree alone. It's not your tree!"
He took out a silk handkerchief and wiped his brow. They entered the house. Like Swithin, James was impressed by the inner court-
yard.
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"You must have spent a deuce of a lot of money here," he said, after staring at the columns and gallery for some time. "Now, what
did it cost to put up those columns?"
"I can't tell you off-hand," thoughtfully answered Bosinney, "but I know it was a deuce of a lot!"
"I should think so," said James. "I should...." He caught the architect's eye, and broke off. And now, whenever he came to anything of which he desired to know the cost, he stifled that curiosity.
Bosinney appeared determined that he should see everything, and had not James been of too 'noticing' a nature, he would certainly have found himself going round the house a second time. He seemed so anxious to be asked questions, too, that James felt he must be on his guard. He began to suffer from his exertions, for, though wiry enough for a man of his long build, he was seventy-five years old.
He grew discouraged; he seemed no nearer to anything, had not obtained from his inspection any of the knowledge he had vaguely hoped for. He had merely increased his dislike and mistrust of this young man, who had tired him out with his politeness, and in whose manner he now certainly detected mockery.
The fellow was sharper than he had thought, and better-looking than he had hoped. He had a--a 'don't care' appearance that James, to whom risk was the most intolerable thing in life, did not appreciate; a peculiar smile, too, coming when least expected; and very queer eyes. He reminded James, as he said afterwards, of a hungry cat. This was as near as he could get, in conversation with Emily, to a description of the peculiar exasperation, velvetiness, and mockery, of which Bosinney's manner had been composed.
At last, having seen all that was to be seen, he came out again at the door where he had gone in; and now, feeling that he was wasting time and strength and money, all for nothing, he took the courage of a Forsyte in both hands, and, looking sharply at Bosinney, said:
"I dare say you see a good deal of my daughter-in-law; now, what does she think of the house? But she hasn't seen it, I suppose?" This he said, knowing all about Irene's visit not, of course, that there was anything in the visit, except that extraordinary remark she
had made about 'not caring to get home'--and the story of how June had taken the news!
He had determined, by this way of putting the question, to give Bosinney a chance, as he said to himself. The latter was long in answering, but kept his eyes with uncomfortable steadiness on James.
"She has seen the house, but I can't tell you what she thinks of it."
Nervous and baffled, James was constitutionally prevented from letting the matter drop. "Oh!" he said, "she has seen it? Soames brought her down, I suppose?"
Bosinney smilingly replied: "Oh, no!" "What, did she come down alone?" "Oh, no!"
"Then--who brought her?"
"I really don't know whether I ought to tell you who brought her."
To James, who knew that it was Swithin, this answer appeared incomprehensible.
"Why!" he stammered, "you know that...." but he stopped, suddenly perceiving his danger. "Well," he said, "if you don't want to tell me I suppose you won't! Nobody tells me anything." Somewhat to his surprise Bosinney asked him a question.
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"By the by," he said, "could you tell me if there are likely to be any more of you coming down? I should like to be on the spot!" "Any more?" said James bewildered, "who should there be more? I don't know of any more. Goodbye?"
Looking at the ground he held out his hand, crossed the palm of it with Bosinney's, and taking his umbrella just above the silk,
walked away along the terrace.