锘挎澀宸炴礂娴存寜鎽╃壒鏈?
ones. Besides, men were inclined to be rough and fierce by nature. Thus she reassured and reproached herself. Perhaps she had driven him 鏉窞鍝佽尪涓婅寰俊缇?away, perhaps her timidity had made him doubt her love. Perhaps she had been too squeamish. After all….
She rose the next morning with a bad headache and her eyes staring rather plaintively out of black saucers. None the less she was happy, even in spite of 鏉窞涓濊璋冩暀 her[Pg 344] regrets. She loved and had been loved, so she told herself over and over again as she dressed David and Bill and prepared the breakfast. Why, even if, when he got home, Joe Dansay discovered that he
did not really love her, she would still have had his love, and 鏉窞鎸夋懇鎶偐 as for herself, she would go on loving him for ever鈥?for ever and ever and ever,” she repeated in a low, trembling voice as she cut her father’s bacon.
During the rest of the day it was the same鈥攕he moved in a kind of exalted dream. The most common objects thrilled her, and gave her unexpected tokens 鏉窞涓嶆瑙勬寜鎽╀环浣?of divinity. Her work was consuming, her leisure beatific. The children loved her, for that day she could do what she had never done properly to their mind, and that is鈥攑lay; while with Harry, dribbling and muttering, she was tender, as no one but Naomi had been.
鏉窞瀹跺涵寮忓吇鐢?
Towards evening uneasiness sprang up again, with the old question鈥攚ould he return? She told herself that if he did, she would not hold back, she would not let her inexperience and timidity rob her or him of their love. She would let him kiss her as he pleased鈥攍ove was too 鏉窞榫欏嚖419璁哄潧good a thing to risk for a few qualms. But would he come?鈥攚ould he give her the chance of reparation? The sun dipped behind Castweasel, the hot sky cooled into a limpid green鈥攕tars specked it in the north, and the moon came up behind Iden Woods, huge and dim.
Caro ran out once or twice into the 鏉窞妗戞嬁spa鐢熸椿棣?garden; the flowers hung pale and stirless on their stems, and from the orchard, full of the babble of a hidden wind, came a faint scent of plums. The old walls of Odiam seemed to smell of the sunshine they had caught and held during the day. The gable-ends broke into 鏉窞澶滅綉妗戞嬁浣撻獙璁哄潧 the stars, and the windows gleamed in the yellowing light of the moon. Up towards the south the mass of Boarzell rose hullish and deserted鈥攆ar away at Ellenwhorne a dog was barking, but all else was still.
Chapter 5
There was no doubt that Joe Dansay had got drunk at Willie 鏉窞澶滅敓娲绘澀宸炵櫨鑺卞潑 Tailleur’s wedding. The fact was cruelly emphasised by the headache with which he woke up the next morning. He thought it very hard luck, for after all, he had not got nearly so drunk as he might have, as he often had. However, he had been forced into abstinence by a long voyage from Sierra 鏉窞澶滅綉鏉窞榫欏嚖缃?Leone, and put down his sufferings to nature’s mutiny at such an unwholesome state of affairs.
At present he lodged with some relations in Watchbell Street, and round him were all the Dansays and Tailleurs and Espinettes and Perrots, the Rye fisher tribe, of French 鏉窞姘寸枟浼氭墍楠岃瘉 origin鈥攚hich was still traceable in their names, in their brown eyes, and the sensitiveness of their mouths. He nearly always went to his people between voyages, for the Rye