Page 352 - lady-chatterlys-lover

night with him must! I’ve promised.’
Connie became insistent.
Hilda bent her Minerva-like head in silence. Then she
looked up.
’Do you want to tell me who he is?’ she said.
’He’s our game-keeper,’ faltered Connie, and she flushed
vividly, like a shamed child.
’Connie!’ said Hilda, lifting her nose slightly with dis-
gust: a she had from her mother.
’I know: but he’s lovely really. He really understands ten-
derness,’ said Connie, trying to apologize for him.
Hilda, like a ruddy, rich-coloured Athena, bowed her
head and pondered She was really violently angry. But she
dared not show it, because Connie, taking after her father,
would straight away become obstreperous and unmanage-
able.
It was true, Hilda did not like Clifford: his cool assur-
ance that he was somebody! She thought he made use of
Connie shamefully and impudently. She had hoped her sis-
ter WOULD leave him. But, being solid Scotch middle class,
she loathed any ‘lowering’ of oneself or the family. She
looked up at last.
’You’ll regret it,’ she said,
’I shan’t,’ cried Connie, flushed red. ‘He’s quite the excep-
tion. I REALLY love him. He’s lovely as a lover.’
Hilda still pondered.
’You’ll get over him quite soon,’ she said, ‘and live to be
ashamed of yourself because of him.’
’I shan’t! I hope I’m going to have a child of his.’

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