I loved the ficlet! I don't remember the Forsyte Saga all that well, but you brought back the characters to me a lot :) I think Michael's right to not be convinced by Jon's idea, and the ending is lovely - bittersweet, but lovely.

And now you've finished the Forsyte Saga I can tell you about the family phrase it originated! It's "he's an artist" to refer to characters whose behaviour is pretty awful from an objective point of view, but who you (and the narrative) still completely sympathise with and excuse, like normal standards and morality don't apply to them somehow - Young Jolyon is the original artist.