"Ay, leave it, I can put it between my legs at night, for company. There's no name nor mark on it, is there?"
She slipped on the torn thing, and sat dreamily looking out of the window. The window was open, the air of morning drifted in, and the sound of birds. Birds flew continuously past. Then she saw Flossie roaming out. It was morning.
Downstairs she heard him making the fire, pumping water, going out at the back door. By and by came the smell of bacon, and at length he came upstairs with a huge black tray that would only just go through the door. He set the tray on the bed, and poured out the tea, Connie squatted in her torn night dress, and fell on her food hungrily. He sat on the one chair, with his plate on his knees.
"How good it is!" she said. "How nice to have breakfast together."
He ate in silence, his mind on the time that was quickly passing. That made her remember.
"Oh, how I wish I could stay here with you, and Wragby were a million miles away! It's Wragby I'm going away from really. You know that, don't you?"
"Ay!"
"And you promise we will live together and have a life together, you and me! You promise me, don't you?"
"Ay! When we can."
"Yes! And we will! we will, won't we?" she leaned over, making the tea spill, catching his wrist.
"Ay!" he said, tidying up the tea.
"We can't possibly not live together now, can we?" she said appealingly.
He looked up at her with his flickering grin.
"No!" he said. "Only you've got to start in twenty-five minutes."
"Have I?" she cried. Suddenly he held up a warning finger, and rose to his feet.
Flossie had given a short bark, then three loud sharp yaps of warning.
Silent, he put his plate on the tray and went downstairs. Constance heard him go down the garden path. A bicycle bell tinkled outside there.
"Morning, Mr. Mellors! Registered letter!"
