CHAPTER FIFTEEN

As the time approached for the sisters to move, Margaret became more and more uncomfortable. They had so much furniture. She wanted to throw it all away, but could not, because so much of it had belonged to her parents. She did not want to be disrespectful. Another problem was that she could not decide on a place to live. The more she looked, the more she realized how much she had loved Wickham Place, for nothing else seemed as good.

Then, one day, her search for a home was interrupted by an invitation from Evie, who had just recently got married. She wanted Margaret to have lunch with her and her fiancé at a very nice restaurant in the Strand. Margaret was surprised to be invited instead of Helen, for she had always thought that Evie preferred her sister. When she arrived, she found that Mr Wilcox was also there.

"Why, Margaret, you look so tired? Busy taking care of insurance company workers, like Mr Bast?" he joked.

"No, just very hungry," Margaret responded. "I have been busy, though. I'm looking for a new home, but can't find one. You wouldn't know of any, would you?"

"Did you hear that, Evie? Miss Schlegel, here, wants me to find a house for her."

Evie did not take much notice, for she was involved in a silly little argument with her fiancé: "Yes, you do," "No, I don't," and so on.

"Oh, why don't you throw out the old man at Howards End and let us move in," joked Margaret.

"I'd love to help you, but I just don't know of anything available," Mr Wilcox said with a smile. "You should just choose the area you like most and the price you want to pay and don't let the house agents argue with you."

"But I don't choose houses, they choose me. And, so far, none of them seem interested."

They chatted throughout dinner and found that they often disagreed with one another on most things. Mr Wilcox found her independence of mind interesting, but did not like the sort of friends she spent time with. He felt that most intelligent, art-loving people were really socialists, which, in his mind, was one of the worst things a person could be.

Throughout the meal, Margaret noticed that Evie almost never spoke to her, which made her wonder if this lunch had actually been arranged by Mr Wilcox, instead of his daughter. She thought about how often they had seen each other recently, and how it was clear that they were beginning to form a real friendship.

After lunch, Margaret thanked the family for a lovely meal, but said that she could not go with them to the park, for she had to return home to pack her luggage. The following day she and Helen were going to visit their Aunt Munt in Swanage.

(end of section)