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The Sun Also Rises Chapter 7
Jake takes a taxi home and when he arrives the concierge greets him with his mail. Brett came by with the count while Jake was out, and the concierge, who so detested Brett last night, has changed her mind. She now thinks Brett is very genteel, and she excuses her behavior last night. Brett told the concierge that she and the count would return later. Jake's concierge used to own a concession at the racetrack in Paris:
"[She] took great pride in telling me which of my guests were well brought up, which were of good family, who were sportsmen, a French word pronounced with the accent on the men. The only trouble was that people who did not fall into any of those three categories were very liable to be told there was no one home, chez Barnes." Chapter 7, pg. 53
Jake had one friend, a disheveled artist, who could never get up to see Jake, whether he was home or not.
This leaves Jake wondering how Brett buttered up the concierge. Jake looks through his mail. He has a cable from his friend Bill Gorton, who will arrive in Paris shortly. Jake showers, and when he is drying off the doorbell rings. It is Brett and the count. The count, an extravagant man who loves to spend, has brought roses. Brett puts them in water, and Jake asks her if she forgot their date. She was so drunk when she made the date, she can't even remember. Jake comments on the concierge's change of heart, and Brett tells him it's because she gave the concierge two hundred francs. It was the count's money, who thought they owed her something for last night. Brett comments on how the count remembers everything, a faculty she would not want to have.
Jake goes into his room to finish dressing. He is feeling bad, and is sitting down on the bed when Brett comes in. She asks him what's the matter, calls him darling, and asks if she should send the count away. Though she came with another man to see Jake, she doesn't want Jake to feel bad. Jake tells her he loves her, and Brett offers again to send the count away. Jake isn't sure, but Brett decides to go out and send the count away for awhile, knowing he will do whatever she asks him to do.
She comes back and comforts Jake. She sent the count out for champagne; he loves to buy champagne, so he's fine. Jake asks Brett if they could just live together (since they cannot have sex, they could not be a real couple), but Brett says no, she would just cheat on him. Jake says she cheats on him now, and he's okay. But he really isn't, and she knows it. He asks if they could go to the country, but she says she wouldn't be happy there. Loving each other is not enough. Brett changes the subject, telling Jake she's going away for awhile, to San Sebastian, and then Michael will be back with her. Jake, hopelessly, asks again if they could go away together. But that idea is no good, and Brett is leaving tomorrow.
The count returns then with the champagne. The count, happy with his purchase, sits back and smokes a cigar. He loves the "finer things" in life. They talk about aristocratic titles, and how Brett will lose hers after her divorce is final. But the count says she doesn't need one, she's classy all on her own. He is very taken with her. Brett wants the champagne, but it isn't cold yet, and the count tells her she doesn't have to be drunk all the time. He enjoys the taste of wine, Brett enjoys its effects. When Brett wants to make a toast with the now-cold wine, the count won't let her, saying: "'This wine is too good for toast-drinking, my dear. You don't want to mix emotions up with a wine like that. You lose the taste.'" Chapter 7, pg. 59
The count tells Jake how much he has seen. He has been in several wars, and he shows Jake and Brett his arrow wounds. For Brett, this wound helps make the count part of their group. Having lived so much, the count feels, makes him capable of enjoying things.
They finish the champagne and then have a brandy. After this quiet drink, they head out to a club for dancing. Jake and Brett dance, and the count watches. They talk a little about Michael. Jake asks when the wedding is, and Brett tells him once her divorce is final and they get the money together. Jake, in a ridiculous moment, offers his help. They take a break and chat with the count.
When they go out to dance again, Brett tells Jake how unhappy she is. The music is loud, and the song is about cheating, fitting music for Brett and Jake. Perhaps uncomfortable with the music, or the large crowd, Jake and Brett decide to leave. The count stays, pays the drink bill, and is surrounded by women as soon as they leave.
They take a taxi to Brett's hotel, but she does not want Jake to come up to her room. They kiss, and Brett says melodramatically that she won't see him again. Expressing the opposite sentiment, they kiss again, and Brett pulls away and runs into her room. Jake takes a taxi home and goes to bed.
