Some Do Not . . ._ A Novel - Ford Madox Ford [58]
'Let's settle the preliminaries. It's obvious mother means us to see a great deal of you. You're going to be a mascot, too, like your father. I suppose you think you are: you saved me from the police yesterday, you appear to have saved mother's neck to-day. You appear, too, to be going to make twenty pounds profit on a horse deal. You say you will and you seem to be that sort of a person...Twenty pounds is no end in a family like ours...Well, then, you appear to be going to be the regular bel ami of the Wannop family...'
Tietjens said:
'I hope not.'
'Oh, I don't mean,' she said, 'that you're going to rise to fame by making love to all the women of the Wannop family. Besides, there's only me. But mother will press you into all sorts of odd jobs: and there will always be a plate for you at the table. Don't shudder! I'm a regular good cook--cuisine bourgeoise of course. I learned under a real professed cook, though a drunkard. That meant I used to do half the cooking and the family was particular. Ealing people are: county councillors, half of them, and the like. So I know what men are...' She stopped and said good-naturedly: 'But do, for goodness' sake, get it over. I'm sorry I was rude to you. But it is irritating to have to stand like a stuffed rabbit while a man is acting like a regular Admiral Crichton, and cool and collected, with the English country gentleman air and all.'
Tietjens winced. The young woman had come a little too near the knuckle of his wife's frequent denunciations of himself. And she exclaimed:
'No! That's not fair! I'm an ungrateful pig! You didn't show a bit more side really than a capable workman must who's doing his job in the midst of a crowd of incapable duffers. But just get it out, will you? Say once and for all that--you know the proper, pompous manner: you are not without sympathy with our aims: but you disapprove--oh, immensely, strongly--of our methods.'
It struck Tietjens that the young woman was a good deal more interested in the cause--of votes for women--than he had given her credit for. He wasn't much in the mood for talking to young women, but it was with considerably more than the surface of his mind that he answered:
'I don't. I approve entirely of your methods: but your aims are idiotic.'
She said:
'You don't know, I suppose, that Gertie Wilson, who's in bed at our house, is wanted by the police: not only for yesterday, but for putting explosives in a whole series of letter-boxes?'
He said:
'I didn't...but it was a perfectly proper thing to do. She hasn't burned any of my letters or I might be annoyed; but it wouldn't interfere with my approval.'
'You don't think,' she asked earnestly, 'that we...mother and I...are likely to get heavy sentences for shielding her? It would be beastly bad luck on mother. Because she's an anti...'
'I don't know about the sentence,' Tietjens said, 'but we'd better get her off your premises as soon as we can...'
She said:
'Oh, you'll help?'
He answered:
'Of course, your mother can't be incommoded. She's written the only novel that's been fit to read since the eighteenth century.'
She stopped and said earnestly:
'Look here. Don't be one of those ignoble triflers who say the vote won't do women any good. Women have a rotten time. They do, really. If you'd seen what I've seen, I'm not talking through my hat.' Her voice became quite deep: she had tears in her eyes: 'Poor women do!' she said, 'little insignificant creatures. We've got to change the divorce laws. We've got to get better conditions. You couldn't stand it if you knew what I know.'
Her emotion vexed him, for it seemed to establish a sort of fraternal intimacy that he didn't at the moment want. Women do not show emotion except before their families. He said drily:
'I daresay I shouldn't. But I don't know, so I can!' She said with deep disappointment:
'Oh, you are a beast! And I shall never beg your pardon for saying that. I don't believe you mean what you say, but merely to say it is heartless.'
This was another of the counts of Sylvia's indictment and Tietjens winced again. She explained: