Mrs. John was saying that Miss Holland must have known Hambleby; and
then again that no, that wasn't likely. That was what made it so
wonderful that she should know. Mrs. John could not have done it. She
recounted sorrowfully the number of things she could not do. And through
it all Jane heard the others talking about Gertrude.
"Gertrude looks very ill," said Mrs. Levine. "What's the matter with
her?"
"How should I know?" said Brodrick. "Ask Henry."
"Miss Collett," said the Doctor solemnly, "has not consulted me."
At this point Mrs. Heron delivered Jane from Mrs. John. She said she
wanted Miss Holland to see the sweet-peas in the kitchen garden.
And in the kitchen garden, among the sweet-peas, Mrs. Heron thanked Jane
on her own account for what she had done, while Jane kept on saying that
she had done nothing. All down the kitchen garden there was an alley of
sweet-peas with a seat at the end of it, and there they sat while Mrs.
Heron talked about her brother Hugh who had been so good to her and to
her children. This praise of Brodrick mingled with the scent of the
sweet-peas, so that Jane could never again smell sweet-peas in a hot
garden without hearing Brodrick's praise.
Mrs. Heron stopped abruptly, as if she could say no more, as if, indeed,
she had said too much, as if she were not used to saying such things.
"My brother thinks I may ask you to come and see me. Will you? Will you
come some day and stay with me?"
In spite of the voice that told her that she was being drawn, that this
family of Brodrick's was formidable, that she must be on her guard
against all arms, stretched out to her, before she knew what she was
doing Jane had said, Yes; she would be very glad.
Voices came to them then, and down the long alley between the sweet-peas
she saw Brodrick coming towards them with Miss Collett and Winny Heron;
and Jane was suddenly aware that it was getting late.
It was cold, too. She shivered. Miss Collett offered a wrap.
For a moment, in the hall of the house, Jane was alone with Brodrick's
secretary. Through the open door they could see Brodrick standing on the
lawn, talking to his sister. Mrs. Heron held him by one arm, Winny
dragged on the other.
"Those two seem devoted to Mr. Brodrick," said Jane.
"They ought to be," said Miss Collett, "with all he does for them. And
they are. The Brodricks are all like that." She looked hard at Jane. "If
you've done anything for them, they never forget it. They keep on paying
back."
Jane smiled.
"I imagine Mr. Hugh Brodrick would be quite absurd about it."
"Oh, _he_----" Gertrude raised her head. Her eyes adored him.
As if her pause were too profoundly revealing, she filled it up. "He'll
always give more than he gets. It isn't for _you_ he gives, it's for
himself. He likes giving. And when it comes to paying him back----."
"That's where he has you?"
"Yes."
And Jane thought, "My dear lady, if you wouldn't treat him quite so like
a god, he might have a chance to discover that he's mortal."
She would have liked to have said that to Miss Collett. She would have
liked to have taken Brodrick to the seat at the end of the alley and
have said to him, "It's all perfectly right. Don't be an idiot and miss
it. You can't do a better thing for yourself than marry her, and it's
the only way, you know, you can pay her back. Don't you see that you're
cruel to her? That it's you that's making her ill? She can't look pretty
when she's ill, but she'd be quite pretty if you made her happy."
But all she said was, "He's like that, is he?" And she went out to where
he waited for her.
"Have you _got_ to go?" he said.
She said, Yes, she was half expecting Nina Lempriere.
"The fiery lady?"
"Yes."
"You may as well stay. She won't be there," said Brodrick.
But Jane did not stay.
The whole family turned out on to the Heath to see them go. At the end
of the road they looked back and saw it there. Sophy Levine was holding
up the Baby to make him wave to Jane.
"Why did you tell them?" she said reproachfully to Brodrick.
"Because I wanted them to like you."
"Am I so disagreeable that they couldn't--without that?"
"I wanted you," he said, "to like _them_."
"I do like them."
He glanced at her sidelong and softly.
"Tell me," she said. "What have they done to look so happy, and so
perfectly at peace?"
"That's it. They haven't done anything."
"Not to do things--that's the secret, is it?"
"Yes," he said, "I almost think it is."
"I wonder," said she.