IV
Vernon left the house in a restless mood. He wanted badly to talk to someone sympathetic. He thought of Joe, then shook his head. He and Joe had almost quarrelled about Nell. Joe despised Nell as what she called a тАЬregular empty-headed society girl.тАЭ She was unfair and prejudiced. As a passport to JoeтАЩs favour, you had to have short hair, wear art smocks, and live in Chelsea.
Sebastian, on the whole, was the best person. Sebastian was always willing to see your point of view, and he was occasionally unusually useful with his matter-of-fact commonsense point of view. A very sound fellow, Sebastian.
Rich, too. How queer things were! If only he had SebastianтАЩs money, he could probably marry Nell tomorrow. Yet, with all that money, Sebastian couldnтАЩt get hold of the girl he wanted. Rather a pity. He wished Joe would marry Sebastian instead of some rotter or other who called himself artistic.
Sebastian, alas, was not at home. Vernon was entertained by Mrs.┬аLevinne. Strangely enough, he found a kind of comfort in her bulky presence. Funny fat old Mrs.┬аLevinne with her jet and her diamonds and her greasy black hair, managed to be more understanding than his own mother.
тАЬYou mustnтАЩt be unhappy, my dear,тАЭ she said. тАЬI can see you are. ItтАЩs some girl, I suppose? Ah well, well, Sebastian is just the same about Joe. I tell him he must be patient. JoeтАЩs just kicking up her heels at present. SheтАЩll settle down soon and begin to find out what it is she really does want.тАЭ
тАЬIt would be awfully jolly if she married Sebastian. I wish she would. It would keep us all together.тАЭ
тАЬYesтБатАФIтАЩm very fond of Joe myself. Not that I think sheтАЩs really the wife for SebastianтБатАФtheyтАЩd be too far away to understand each other. IтАЩm old-fashioned, my dear. IтАЩd like my boy to marry one of our own people. It always works out best. The same interests, and the same instincts, and Jewish women are good mothers. Well, well, it may come, if Joe is really in earnest about not marrying him. And the same thing with you, Vernon. There are worse things than marrying a cousin.тАЭ
тАЬMe? Marry Joe?тАЭ
Vernon stared at her in utter astonishment. Mrs.┬аLevinne laughed, a fat, good-natured chuckle that shook her various chins.
тАЬJoe? No, indeed. ItтАЩs your cousin Enid IтАЩm talking about. ThatтАЩs the idea at Birmingham, isnтАЩt it?тАЭ
тАЬOh, noтБатАФat leastтБатАФIтАЩm sure it isnтАЩt.тАЭ
Mrs.┬аLevinne laughed again.
тАЬI can see that you at any rate have never thought of it till this minute. But it would be a wise plan, you knowтБатАФthat is, if the other girl wonтАЩt have you. Keeps the money in the family.тАЭ
Vernon went away with his brain tingling. All sorts of things fell into line. Uncle SydneyтАЩs chaff and hints. The way Enid was always being thrust at him. That, of course, was what Mrs.┬аVereker had been hinting at. They wanted him to marry Enid! Enid!
Another memory came back to him. His mother and some old friend of hers whispering together. Something about first cousins. A sudden idea occurred to him. That was why Joe had been allowed to go to London. His mother had thought that he and Joe mightтБатАКтБатАж
He gave a sudden shout of laughter. He and Joe! It showed how little his mother had ever understood. He could never, under any circumstances, imagine himself falling in love with Joe. They were exactly like brother and sister and always would be. They had the same sympathies, the same sharp divergences and differences of opinion. They were cast in the same mould, devoid of any glamour and romance for each other.
Enid! So this was what Uncle Sydney was after. Poor old Uncle Sydney, doomed to disappointmentтБатАФbut he shouldnтАЩt have been such an ass.
Perhaps, though, he was jumping to conclusions. Perhaps it wasnтАЩt Uncle SydneyтБатАФonly his mother. Women were always marrying you to someone in their minds. Anyway, Uncle Sydney would soon know the truth.