"This is not the advice I should give you," he went on, addressing her silence, "if you were an unmarried woman. I urge my unmarried patients to work--to use their brains all they can--and married ones, too, when they"ve no children. If poor Mabel had done _something_ it would have been far better. But in your case it"s disastrous."
Jane remained silent. She herself had a premonition of disaster. Her restlessness was on her. Her nerves and blood were troubled again by the ungovernable, tyrannous impulse of her power. It was not the year she should have chosen, but because she had no choice she was working through everything, secretly, in defiance of Henry"s orders. She wondered if he knew. He was looking at her keenly, as if he had at any rate a shrewd suspicion.
"I hardly think," he said, "it"s fair to Hugh."
Henry was sure of his facts, and her silence made him surer. She _was_ at it again, and the question was how to stop her?
The question was laid that night before the family committee. It met in the library at Moor Grange almost by Brodrick"s invitation. Brodrick was worried. He had gone so far as to confess that he was worried about Jane. She wanted to write another book, he said, and he didn"t know whether she was fit.
"Of course she isn"t fit," said the Doctor. "It must be stopped. She must be made to give it up--altogether."
Brodrick inquired who was to make her? and was told that _he_ was. He must put his foot down. He should have put it down before.
But Brodrick, being a Brodrick, took an unexpected line.
"I don"t know," he said slowly, "that we"ve any right to dictate to her.
It"s a big question, and I think she ought to be allowed to decide it for herself."
"She isn"t fit," said Henry, "to decide anything for herself."
Brodrick sent a level look at him.
"You talk," said he, "as if she wasn"t responsible."
"I should be very sorry to say who is and who isn"t. Responsibility is a question of degree. I say Jane is not at the present moment in a state to decide."
"It sounds," said Brodrick, laughing in his bitterness, "very much as if you thought she wasn"t sane. Of course I know she"d put a cheque for a hundred pounds into a drawer and forget all about it. But it would be more proof of insanity in Jinny if she remembered it was there."
"It would indeed," said Sophy.
"We"re not discussing Jinny"s talent for finance," said Henry.
"I suppose," said Brodrick, "what we _are_ discussing is her genius?"
"I"m not saying anything at all about her genius. We"ve every reason to recognize her genius and be proud of it. It"s not a question of her mind. It"s a question of a definite bodily condition, and as you can"t separate mind from body" (he shrugged his shoulders), "well--there you are. I won"t say don"t let her work; it"s better for her to use her brain than to let it rust. But let her use it in moderation.
Moder--ation. Not those tremendous books that take it out of her."
"Are you sure they do take it out of her? Tanqueray says she"ll be ill if she doesn"t write "em."
"Tanqueray? What does he know about it?"
"More than we do, I suspect. He says the normal, healthy thing for her is to write, to write tremendous books, and she"ll suffer if we thwart her. He says we don"t understand her."
"Does he suggest that _you_ don"t understand her?" asked Sophy.
Brodrick smiled. "I think he was referring more particularly to Henry."
Henry tried to smile. "He"s not a very good instance of his own theory.
Look at his wife."
"That only proves that Tanqueray"s books aren"t good for his wife. Not that they aren"t good for Tanqueray. Besides, Prothero says the same thing."
"Prothero!"
"He ought to know. He"s a doctor."
Henry dismissed Prothero with a gesture.
"Look here, Hugh. It simply comes to this. Either there must be no more books or there must be no more children. You can"t have both."
"There shall be no more children."
"As you like it. I don"t advise it. Those books take it out of her more."
He lowered his voice.
"I consider her last book responsible for that child"s delicacy."
Brodrick flinched visibly at that.
"I don"t care," the Doctor went on, "what Prothero and Tanqueray say.
They can"t know. They don"t see her. No more do you. You"re out all day.
I shouldn"t know myself if Gertrude Collett hadn"t told me."
"Oh--Gertrude Collett."
"n.o.body more likely to know. She"s on the spot, watching her from hour to hour."
"What did she tell you?"
"Why--that she works up-stairs, in her room--for hours--when she"s supposed to be lying down. She"s doing it now probably."
"Gertrude knows that for a fact?"
"A fact. And she knows it was done last year too, before the baby was born."
"And _I_ know," said Brodrick fiercely, "it was not."
"Have her in," said Sophy, "and ask her."
Brodrick had her in and asked her. Gertrude gave her evidence with a gentle air of surprise that there could be any doubt as to what Mrs.
Brodrick had been up to--this year, at any rate. She flushed when Brodrick confronted her with his certainty as to last year. She could not, in the face of Brodrick"s certainty, speak positively as to last year.
She withdrew herself hastily, as from an unpleasant position, and was followed by Sophy Levine.
"There"s nothing for it," said Henry, "but to tell her."
"About the child?"