In 1927 or 1928, while holidaying in Scotland, James tells Georgina that he loves her. But she says that she does not love him in that way anymore, and early the next morning he leaves without saying goodbye to anybody. He then goes to Liverpool and sails to New York City to stay with Elizabeth, who had moved there with her husband Dana around 1911. James does not return until October 1929, and has more money thanks to the stock market. However, on 24 October, the stock market crashes and James loses his entire fortune. Days before he had encouraged Rose to invest the £1200 she had received from Gregory Wilmot in his will, and she too loses all her money. He and Richard have a heated argument about this, as James cannot repay Rose the money she has lost, and about how James has failed to make anything of himself despite his upbringing and all his advantages. James privately goes to a hotel in Maidenhead and commits suicide by shooting himself.