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things in her still pleased him, and he thought that there
was a lot in her which was very good: she had been badly
brought up, and her life was hard; he had blamed her for
much that she could not help; and it was his own fault if he
had asked virtues from her which it was not in her power to
give. Under different circumstances she might have been a
charming girl. She was extraordinarily unfit for the battle
of life. As he watched her now in profile, her mouth slightly
open and that delicate flush on her cheeks, he thought she
looked strangely virginal. He felt an overwhelming com-
passion for her, and with all his heart he forgave her for the
misery she had caused him. The smoky atmosphere made
Philip’s eyes ache, but when he suggested going she turned
to him with beseeching face and asked him to stay till the
end. He smiled and consented. She took his hand and held
it for the rest of the performance. When they streamed out
with the audience into the crowded street she did not want
to go home; they wandered up the Westminster Bridge
Road, looking at the people.
‘I’ve not had such a good time as this for months,’ she
said.
Philip’s heart was full, and he was thankful to the fates
because he had carried out his sudden impulse to take Mil-
dred and her baby into his flat. It was very pleasant to see
her happy gratitude. At last she grew tired and they jumped
on a tram to go home; it was late now, and when they got
down and turned into their own street there was no one
about. Mildred slipped her arm through his.
‘It’s just like old times, Phil,’ she said.