Chapter IX

by William Somerset Maugham

　　"This is a terrible thing," he said, the moment we got outinto the street.I realised that he had come away with me in order to discussonce more what he had been already discussing for hours withhis sister-in-law."We don't know who the woman is, you know," he said. "All weknow is that the blackguard's gone to Paris.""I thought they got on so well.""So they did. Why, just before you came in Amy said they'dnever had a quarrel in the whole of their married life.You know Amy. There never was a better woman in the world."Since these confidences were thrust on me, I saw no harm inasking a few questions."But do you mean to say she suspected nothing?""Nothing. He spent August with her and the children in Norfolk.He was just the same as he'd always been. We wentdown for two or three days, my wife and I, and I played golfwith him. He came back to town in September to let hispartner go away, and Amy stayed on in the country.They'd taken a house for six weeks, and at the end of her tenancyshe wrote to tell him on which day she was arriving in London.He answered from Paris. He said he'd made up his mind not tolive with her any more.""What explanation did he give?""My dear fellow, he gave no explanation. I've seen theletter. It wasn't more than ten lines.""But that's extraordinary."We happened then to cross the street, and the trafficprevented us from speaking. What Colonel MacAndrew had toldme seemed very improbable, and I suspected that Mrs.Strickland, for reasons of her own, had concealed from himsome part of the facts. It was clear that a man afterseventeen years of wedlock did not leave his wife withoutcertain occurrences which must have led her to suspect thatall was not well with their married life. The Colonel caught me up."Of course, there was no explanation he could give except thathe'd gone off with a woman. I suppose he thought she couldfind that out for herself. That's the sort of chap he was.""What is Mrs. Strickland going to do?""Well, the first thing is to get our proofs. I'm going overto Paris myself.""And what about his business?""That's where he's been so artful. He's been drawing in hishorns for the last year.""Did he tell his partner he was leaving?""Not a word."Colonel MacAndrew had a very sketchy knowledge of businessmatters, and I had none at all, so I did not quite understandunder what conditions Strickland had left his affairs.I gathered that the deserted partner was very angry andthreatened proceedings. It appeared that when everything wassettled he would be four or five hundred pounds out of pocket."It's lucky the furniture in the flat is in Amy's name.She'll have that at all events.""Did you mean it when you said she wouldn't have a bob?""Of course I did. She's got two or three hundred pounds andthe furniture.""But how is she going to live?""God knows."The affair seemed to grow more complicated, and the Colonel,with his expletives and his indignation, confused rather thaninformed me. I was glad that, catching sight of the clock atthe Army and Navy Stores, he remembered an engagement to playcards at his club, and so left me to cut across St. James Park.