Page 369 - lady-chatterlys-lover

morning.
Downstairs she heard him making the fire, pumping wa-
ter, 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 nightdress, 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 to-
gether, 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 min-
utes.’
’Have I?’ she cried. Suddenly he held up a warning finger,
and rose to his feet.

Lady Chatterly’s Lover