CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

As Leonard lay dead in the garden, Margaret busied herself with collecting flowers to put on his chest. Helen, who had been horribly frightened, did her best to stay calm and protect her baby from any harm.

Margaret found strange comfort in the thought that soon a child would be born. A child that would have to deal with all of the things that life threw at it, both good and bad. Despite all of the craziness around her and the lack of human kindness, she still remained aware of all the beauty that existed in the world.

The police and the doctors came and asked her all kinds of questions about Leonard and Charles. They looked at the Schlegel's sword and wondered if Charles had not caused the heart attack to happen by striking poor Mr Bast. Margaret responded by saying that it was clear that Mr Bast would have died soon, whether Charles had attacked him or not. He was a sick man.

Helen was allowed to stay the night at the Avery's farm near Howards End. She would leave for Germany the following day. And so, too, would Margaret.

She and Henry had failed to make the relationship work. There was no hope for her to awaken any passion in him. She could see his future very clearly. He would, once again, put on his mask and pretend that he had no history, certainly no dark history. He would continue to work and increase his wealth. He would continue to be seen as a 'respectable gentleman' by society. And then, one day, the time would come for him to retire and finish out his life. Yes, it was very easy to know his future.

Soon, Henry's driver came to Howards End and told Margaret that his master would like to speak with her. Before getting into the car, she took a look at Howards End and felt sad that it would soon be empty again. She imagined that Henry would probably put it up for sale in order to get it off of his hands entirely.

When they arrived at Charles' house, Henry met her at the doorway.

"I think it'd be best if we talked outside," he said.

"Fine. We'll sit in the grass, though," Margaret answered, getting out of the car.

They sat down in the yard, away from Dolly's and Charles' view.

"You know I'm moving to Germany," she said, throwing Henry's keys to Howards End on the ground in front of him.

"Margaret, I'd like to say something ... "

"No, I won't listen," she interrupted, "We're moving to Munich. There I will care for my sister and her child. We're leaving in a few days. After the police are finished investigating."

"What do you mean, investigating?"

"You do know that Charles is going to be charged with murder, don't you? Not the highest charge of murder, but enough to have him put in jail for a while."

"My s ... He mustn't know. It's all over for me. I'm ruined."

Margaret decided not to show any emotion. She wanted him to suffer all on his own. Maybe it would help him to see the world as it really was. Over the next few days, Charles was taken to court and found guilty. He was sentenced to three years of prison.

(end of section)