Mauritius

made. "

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the two of us to meet. You know, we'll never have another chance like this. Stay with me, we love each other."

"Of course, but that's no excuse for doing stupid things. Staying with you, why? Where? That's what I am, vulgar and ugly. What would your mother say if she saw me?"

"She'll never see you, and I don't live in my own home."

"Where are you going to live?"

"Live with you."

"Oh, live together? Thank you, but you can't. People in my family don't like you at all, and I don't blame them. I just want to know, what about your work?"

"I resign."

"How can you quit your job in the city that gives you money and status? You can't quit."

"You can quit when you don't want to," said Maurice softly. "Once you understand its nature, you can do any job." He gazed at the dawn, which turned from gray to yellow.None of these words surprised him, but he couldn't predict what would happen in the future. "I'll find a job with you," he said clearly, and it was time to tell the truth.

"What job?"

"Let's look for it."

"If you look for it, you will starve to death."

"No. We've got enough money to live on while we're looking for work. I'm not a fool, and you're not a fool, and we're not going to starve. Last night after you fell asleep - I was awake thinking about these things .”

There was a pause.Then Alek said, in a gentler tone, "It won't work, Maurice. It will ruin us both, don't you see? Either you or me."

"I don't know, maybe, maybe not. 'Class', I don't understand, I know what we're going to do today. Let's get out of here and have a decent breakfast. Then go to Penge, or you Go wherever you like, meet your Fred. You tell him you've changed your mind about emigrating overseas and taking employment with Mr. Hall. I'll go with you, I don't care. I can see anyone, and face anything. I'm tired of letting them guess if they want to. Tell Fred to refund your ticket, and I'll pay for the loss. , is the first step in our freedom, and then we do the second. Risks are taken, and so are others. And whoever they are, they have only one life."

Alek smiled sarcastically and went on dressing.His attitude was similar to yesterday's, but without intimidation. "You're the kind of guy who's never had to support himself," he said. "You've got me on the hook with 'I love you' and all that, and now you're trying to ruin my career. Don't you Don't know, is there a solid job waiting for me in Argentina? Just like you have a career here. What a pity! The Nomania sails on Saturday. But facts are facts, aren't they? My My luggage is packed, my boat tickets are bought, and Fred and my sister-in-law are waiting for me."

Maurice saw the sadness hidden behind Alek's vulgar words.However, what is the use of insight now?No amount of insight could prevent the Nomania from setting sail.He failed, and distress inevitably awaited him.As for Alec, the anguish may be coming to an end.After leaving this place and entering a new life, he forgot about these escapades with a gentleman, and sooner or later he would marry.The shrewd lad who belonged to the working class knew his interests.He had crammed his fine flesh into an ugly blue three-piece suit, from which his red face and brown hands protruded, his hair brushed flat. "Okay, I'm going," he said.Afterwards, it seemed that there was still more to say.Added another sentence: "Think about it, the two of us really might as well not meet."

"That's nothing," said Maurice.Maurice turned his face away when Alec pushed the latch.

"You paid for the room in advance, right? They won't stop me when I go downstairs, will they? I don't want to end up being unhappy."

"You can rest assured." He heard the sound of closing the door, leaving him alone.He waited for his sweetheart to come back, he had to wait.Then the eyes hurt.From experience, he knew what to expect.After a while he was able to restrain his emotions.He got up, walked out, made a few phone calls, explained.I comforted my mother and apologized to the host last night.He shaved, trimmed, and went to work as usual.There is a lot of work waiting for him, nothing has changed in his life, nothing has been left behind.He was alone again, as he had been before and after what had happened with Clive.This loneliness will continue forever in the future.He failed.What saddened him most, however, was watching Alek lose.In a sense, the two of them are one.Love loses the battle, love is a feeling, and through love you can have fun once in a while.Love is nothing.

On Saturday he went to Southampton to see off the Nomania.

It was a whimsical decision, unhelpful, undignified, dangerous.When he left home, he hadn't the slightest intention of it.But when he arrived in London, the hunger that tormented him every night blatantly demanded his prey.Leaving everything behind him except Alek's face and body, he resorted to the only means by which he could see them.He didn't want to talk to his lover, or hear his voice, or touch him—it was all in the past—he wanted to see Alek again before it was gone forever.Poor, unlucky Alek!Who can blame him?What else could he do but act like this?And yet, oh, they're both equally unlucky.

Maurice boarded the ship as if in a dream.There he came to himself, and a new uneasiness came over him.Alek was nowhere to be seen, and the steamboat steward was very busy, before leading him to Mr. Scudder, Alek's brother Fred.He was a rough, dry, middle-aged businessman.The bearded elder beside him must have been the butcher of Osminton.Alek's main allure was the youthful ruddy sheen that shone along his hairline.Fred looks like his brother, but has sandy skin reminiscent of a fox.His face was greasy, replacing the caress of the sun on his brother's face.Fred, like Alec, had a high opinion of himself.His ego stems from his commercial success.He looked down on manual labor, but unexpectedly his younger brother had grown into a rough man, and he felt ashamed.He had never heard of Mr. Hall, and he assumed that he must regard himself as a benefactor to them.So, he assumed an arrogant attitude. "Licky isn't on the boat yet, but his luggage is here," he said. "Would you like to see his luggage?" said his father. : "There is plenty of time." And he looked at his watch.His mother pursed her lips and said, "He won't be late. Leakey means what he says." Fred said, "If he wants to be late, let him be. If he won't come with me, I won't." I can stand it. But he shouldn't expect me to help him anymore, for him, I spent too much money..."

"This is the world Alec belongs to." Maurice thought carefully. "These people can make him happier than I can." He stuffed the tobacco he had smoked for six years into his pipe and watched the love affair unravel.Alek is neither a hero nor a god, but just a mortal who is bound by society like him and helpless.Neither the sea nor the forest, nor the refreshing breeze nor the sun, were prepared to deify him.It was not right for the two of them to spend the night together in an inn, and thus the unattainable hope was born.They should have parted ways after shaking hands in the rain.

A morbid curiosity kept him among the Scudders.He listened to their vulgar conversation, looking for the gesture of friendliness in their every move.He tried to curry favor with them, but failed because he lost his self-confidence.He was deep in thought, when a serene voice came to his ears: "Hello, Mr. Hall." He was so surprised that he was speechless.That was Mr. Borenius.Neither of them would forget his silence at first, his fearful eyes, and how quickly he drew the pipe from his mouth, as if the rector had forbidden him to smoke.

Mr. Borenius gently introduced himself to the Scudders.Not far from here was Peng Jie, who had come to see the young parishioner off.They were talking about which way Alek was going to go--seemed a little uncertain--Maurice tried to slip away because he couldn't figure out whether he should stay here, but Borenius Monsieur stopped him: "Would you like to go on deck?" asked the Rector, "I will, too." The two of them were back in the fresh air and sunshine.The shoals of Southampton Harbor spread around them, a golden hue, terminating in New Forest and its urbanization along Southampton Bay and the Solent. the coastal areas of the county, plus the agricultural areas around Ringwood and Fordingbridge in the west of the county).To Maurice, the beauty of the evening seemed to portend disaster