Old Jolyon was not given to hasty decisions; it is probable that he
would have continued to think over the purchase of the house at Robin
Hill, had not June's face told him that he would have no peace until he
acted.
At breakfast next morning she asked him what time she should order the
carriage.
"Carriage!" he said, with some appearance of innocence; "what for? I'm
not going out!"
She answered: "If you don't go early, you won't catch Uncle James before
he goes into the City."
"James! what about your Uncle James?"
"The house," she replied, in such a voice that he no longer pretended
ignorance.
"I've not made up my mind," he said.
"You must! You must! Oh! Gran--think of me!"
Old Jolyon grumbled out: "Think of you--I'm always thinking of you,
but you don't think of yourself; you don't think what you're letting
yourself in for. Well, order the carriage at ten!"
At a quarter past he was placing his umbrella in the stand at Park
Lane--he did not choose to relinquish his hat and coat; telling Warmson
that he wanted to see his master, he went, without being announced, into
the study, and sat down.
James was still in the dining-room talking to Soames, who had come round
again before breakfast. On hearing who his visitor was, he muttered
nervously: "Now, what's he want, I wonder?"
He then got up.
"Well," he said to Soames, "don't you go doing anything in a hurry. The
first thing is to find out where she is--I should go to Stainer's about
it; they're the best men, if they can't find her, nobody can." And
suddenly moved to strange softness, he muttered to himself, "Poor little
thing, I can't tell what she was thinking about!" and went out blowing
his nose.
Old Jolyon did not rise on seeing his brother, but held out his hand,
and exchanged with him the clasp of a Forsyte.
James took another chair by the table, and leaned his head on his hand.
"Well," he said, "how are you? We don't see much of you nowadays!"
Old Jolyon paid no attention to the remark.
"How's Emily?" he asked; and waiting for no reply, went on "I've come to
see you about this affair of young Bosinney's. I'm told that new house
of his is a white elephant."
"I don't know anything about a white elephant," said James, "I know he's
lost his case, and I should say he'll go bankrupt."
Old Jolyon was not slow to seize the opportunity this gave him.
"I shouldn't wonder a bit!" he agreed; "and if he goes bankrupt, the
'man of property'--that is, Soames'll be out of pocket. Now, what I was
thinking was this: If he's not going to live there...."