第55章

HisboywasseldomabsentfromJolyon’smindinthedayswhichfollowedthefirstwalkwithIreneinRichmondPark。Nofurthernewshadcome；enquiriesattheWarOfficeelicitednothing；norcouldheexpecttohearfromJuneandHollyforthreeweeksatleast。InthesedayshefelthowinsufficientwerehismemoriesofJolly，andwhatanamateurofafatherhehadbeen。Therewasnotasinglememoryinwhichangerplayedapart；notonereconciliation，becausetherehadneverbeenarupture；noroneheart-to-heartconfidence，notevenwhenJolly’smotherdied。

Nothingbuthalf-ironicalaffection。Hehadbeentooafraidofcommittinghimselfinanydirection，forfearoflosinghisliberty，orinterferingwiththatofhisboy。

OnlyinIrene’spresencehadherelief，highlycomplicatedbytheever-growingperceptionofhowdividedhewasbetweenherandhisson。WithJollywasboundupallthatsenseofcontinuityandsocialcreedofwhichhehaddrunkdeeplyinhisyouthandagainduringhisboy’spublicschoolandvarsitylife——allthatsenseofnotgoingbackonwhatfatherandsonexpectedofeachother。WithIrenewasboundupallhisdelightinbeautyandinNature。Andheseemedtoknowlessandlesswhichwasthestrongerwithinhim。

>Fromsuchsentimentalparalysishewasrudelyawakened，however，oneafternoon，justashewasstartingofftoRichmond，byayoungmanwithabicycleandafaceoddlyfamiliar，whocameforwardfaintlysmiling。”Mr。JolyonForsyte?Thankyou！”PlacinganenvelopeinJolyon’shandhewheeledoffthepathandrodeaway。Bewildered，Jolyonopenedit。”AdmiraltyProbateandDivorce，Forsytev。ForsyteandForsyte！”

Asensationofshameanddisgustwasfollowedbytheinstantreaction’Why，here’stheverythingyouwant，andyoudon’tlikeit！’Butshemusthavehadonetoo；andhemustgotoheratonce。

Heturnedthingsoverashewentalong。Itwasanironicalbusi-

ness。For，whatevertheScripturessaidabouttheheart，ittookmorethanmerelongingstosatisfythelaw。Theycouldperfectlywelldefendthissuit，oratleastingoodfaithtryto。ButtheideaofdoingsorevoltedJolyon。Ifnotherloverindeedhewasindesire，andheknewthatshewasreadytocometohim。Herfacehadtoldhimso。Notthatheexaggeratedherfeelingforhim。Shehadhadhergrandpassion，andhecouldnotexpectanotherfromherathisage。Butshehadtrustinhim，affectionforhim，andmustfeelthathewouldbearefuge。Surelyshewouldnotaskhimtodefendthesuit，knowingthatheadoredher！ThankHeavenshehadnotthatmaddeningBritishconscientiousnesswhichrefusedhappinessforthesakeofrefusing！Shemustrejoiceatthischanceofbeingfreeafterseventeenyearsofdeathinlife！Astopublicity，thefatwasinthefire！Todefendthesuitwouldnottakeawaytheslur。JolyonhadalltheproperfeelingofaForsytewhoseprivacyisthreatened：IfhewastobehungbytheLaw，byallmeansletitbeforasheep！Moreoverthenotionofstandinginawitnessboxandswearingtothetruththatnogesture，notevenawordoflovehadpassedbetweenthemseemedtohimmoredegradingthantotakethetacitstigmaofbeinganadulterer——moretrulydegrading，consideringthefeelinginhisheart，andjustasbadandpainfulforhischildren。Thethoughtofexplainingaway，ifhecould，beforeajudgeandtwe

后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节