The Last September

Mr. Daventry pulls Lois into three dances in his attempt to drown out the morning’s activities. Gerald watches sulkily from the wall until he can jump in. He asks Lois if he did anything wrong, and she admits she thought he was upset about something. They go outside to talk, and each admits to having wanted the other to write or visit to make things less awkward. They kiss, and Gerald brings up marriage but does not formally propose.

Later that evening, Mr. Daventry kisses an unwilling local girl until her hints about whisky on his breath drive him away. He finds Lois and eyes her up and down, making her uncomfortable. He manages to get her alone while they eat sandwiches, and he starts to say something about Gerald before he is cut off by the gramophone dying and the party guests filing into the room where they are speaking. Gerald finds her again; when someone asks if Lois is tired, she replies that she is not.

Lois arrives home to find her aunt, uncle, and the Montmorencys sitting outside waiting for her. She tells them about the night, omitting her conversation with Gerald. Lois tells Laurence she wants to start something finally and asks him for book recommendations. He recommends studying German. Once in her room, she reads the letter Gerald had left for her at the Fogarty’s home before she left. He expresses his love once more and shares how he wishes to care for her.

Lady Naylor comes up to talk to Lois, hedging around the topic of Gerald. She shares that the dance may have been the last Lois has, based on how the war is going. She admits that a man from Kerry showed up at the neighbor’s home during their visit, and he made them all uncomfortable. She tells Lois she should study Italian instead of German, which is still out of fashion since World War I. She asks if Lois would like to attend art school, and Lois says yes.

Lois walks outside with Hugo. When they part ways in the garden, she thinks of Gerald. She thinks it is inevitable that she will marry him. When she meets Hugo again while going inside, he notes how it must seem like nothing has changed at the house while she was away, despite her feeling like ages have passed. She can’t explain to him the kind of magnetism that static quality of the house has for her.

Lois tells Lady Naylor about Gerald, but Lady Naylor insists Lois knows nothing about love. She tells Lois she should go to art school and not think about men at her age. Gerald arrives for tea, and Lois walks with him outside. He kisses her roughly, and she shares that she might go to art school. He worries over when they can see each other, with the war going on.

They join the family inside, and her aunt and uncle treat Gerald nicely, acting as if he is their source of inside information about the army. When conversation lulls, the Trents, neighbors of the Naylors, arrive for tea with a friend in tow. This friend is another person “to whom still more had happened” than the Trents’ last friend (254). He tells the Naylors about “assault and cattle-driving” (254). Mrs. Trent, Lois, and Lady Naylor stand apart from the rest, and Lady Naylor shares that Lois is going to art school. Mrs. Trent believes girls in Ireland don’t have many marriageable options, and so a soldier can be an acceptable option for Lois. Lady Naylor insists that they are not, and she insists that girls have options nowadays besides marriage, like having careers.

Marda writes to Lois and shares that her hand has healed and that no one suspects there is more to the injury. Hugo feels the insult of Marda informing him of this through Lois. He walks through the grounds of Danielstown and imagines scenes where Marda returns his feelings.

Lady Naylor takes Francie to Clonmore, specifically leaving Lois behind, and while Francie stops at the rectory, Lady Naylor meets Gerald to address his relationship with Lois. She starts by using the example of Livvy and Mr. Armstrong, telling Gerald how the marriage can never happen, and he finally understands her meaning. She claims Lois does not love him in the way Lady Naylor understands love, and she insists Lois is keen on art school. Finally, she broaches the topic of money, although her upbringing makes that feel crass. She points out that Gerald does not earn enough to support Lois. She claims she will not keep them apart, but she asks Gerald to have an honest conversation with Lois about all this. Francie interrupts them and Lady Naylor leaves with her.

Francie tells her husband that evening that she worries Lady Naylor has been interfering between Gerald and Lois, and she admits she doesn’t know if she can trust Lady Naylor. Lady Naylor claims to Lois, that Gerald told her he thinks the marriage between Mr. Armstrong and Livvy isn’t a good idea. That night, Francie slips into Lois’s room to tell her how unhappy Gerald had seemed after his talk with Lady Naylor.

The next day, Gerald comes to Danielstown to talk to Lois, as Lady Naylor had asked. He tells her he and Lady Naylor agree he is not good enough for Lois, and that they can’t get married. Lois tries to convince him they should still marry, but in the course of the conversation, they realize they love one another differently. Lois still wishes to marry Gerald, telling him she felt safe with him. He maintains his distance and leaves her as darkness sets in.

Mrs. Vermont and her other English friends pay a surprise visit to Danielstown, where Lois puts on an act of hospitality but tries to keep them from staying for luncheon or tea. The women gossip as they leave, thinking Gerald is well rid of Lois’s family.

The next day, terrible news runs through Clonmore. Women weep, and it is clear someone has been shot and killed. The local women wonder over and over why they have to stay in Ireland.

Mr. Daventry goes to Danielstown and breaks the news to Lois: Gerald, while on patrol, was shot by the enemy and died instantly. Lois does not know what to say and walks away, leaving Mr. Daventry to tell her family. Lady Naylor talks as if they knew Gerald quite well, saying she must write to his mother. Laurence happens on Lois outside and offers lame words of comfort before walking on. Lois remembers how Gerald loved her and how he loved the British empire.

Two weeks later, Mrs. Trent visits Lady Naylor, who informs her that the Montmorencys have gone and that Lois and Laurence have both left, as well. Lois has gone on tour to work on her French, with plans to stay with another family. Lady Naylor shares how sad things have been since Gerald’s death. She says that Gerald’s mother replied to her letter by saying that her first consolation is that Gerald died for a noble cause. Lady Naylor thinks the comment not tactful but excuses it by saying the woman was distressed. The women admire the house in autumn, and the narrator then explains that it was the last autumn for the house. In February, the IRA burns Danielstown, Castle Trent, and Mount Isabel, three great houses in the area, and Sir Richard and Lady Naylor look on as their home burns.