But at this moment occurred one of those sensations--so precious at
Timothy's--which great occasions sometimes bring forth:
"Miss June Forsyte."
Aunts Juley and Hester were on their feet at once, trembling from
smothered resentment, and old affection bubbling up, and pride at the
return of a prodigal June! Well, this was a surprise! Dear June--after
all these years! And how well she was looking! Not changed at all! It
was almost on their lips to add, 'And how is your dear grandfather?'
forgetting in that giddy moment that poor dear Jolyon had been in his
grave for seven years now.
Ever the most courageous and downright of all the Forsytes, June, with
her decided chin and her spirited eyes and her hair like flame, sat
down, slight and short, on a gilt chair with a bead-worked seat, for
all the world as if ten years had not elapsed since she had been to see
them--ten years of travel and independence and devotion to lame ducks.
Those ducks of late had been all definitely painters, etchers, or
sculptors, so that her impatience with the Forsytes and their hopelessly
inartistic outlook had become intense. Indeed, she had almost ceased to
believe that her family existed, and looked round her now with a sort
of challenging directness which brought exquisite discomfort to the
roomful. She had not expected to meet any of them but 'the poor old
things'; and why she had come to see them she hardly knew, except that,
while on her way from Oxford Street to a studio in Latimer Road, she had
suddenly remembered them with compunction as two long-neglected old lame
ducks.
Aunt Juley broke the hush again. "We've just been saying, dear, how
dreadful it is about these Boers! And what an impudent thing of that old
Kruger!"
"Impudent!" said June. "I think he's quite right. What business have we
to meddle with them? If he turned out all those wretched Uitlanders it
would serve them right. They're only after money."
The silence of sensation was broken by Francie saying:
"What? Are you a pro-Boer?" (undoubtedly the first use of that
expression).
"Well! Why can't we leave them alone?" said June, just as, in the open
doorway, the maid said "Mr. Soames Forsyte." Sensation on sensation!
Greeting was almost held up by curiosity to see how June and he would
take this encounter, for it was shrewdly suspected, if not quite known,
that they had not met since that old and lamentable affair of her fiance
Bosinney with Soames' wife. They were seen to just touch each other's
hands, and look each at the other's left eye only. Aunt Juley came at
once to the rescue: