Page 390 - lady-chatterlys-lover

heard somebody talking in Mr Mellors’ bedroom early one
morning, and a motor-car had been in the lane.
Mr Mellors stayed on with his mother, and went to the
wood through the park, and it seems she stayed on at the
cottage. Well, there was no end of talk. So at last Mr Mellors
and Tom Phillips went to the cottage and fetched away most
of the furniture and bedding, and unscrewed the handle of
the pump, so she was forced to go. But instead of going back
to Stacks Gate she went and lodged with that Mrs Swain
at Beggarlee, because her brother Dan’s wife wouldn’t have
her. And she kept going to old Mrs Mellors’ house, to catch
him, and she began swearing he’d got in bed with her in
the cottage and she went to a lawyer to make him pay her
an allowance. She’s grown heavy, and more common than
ever, and as strong as a bull. And she goes about saying the
most awful things about him, how he has women at the
cottage, and how he behaved to her when they were mar-
ried, the low, beastly things he did to her, and I don’t know
what all. I’m sure it’s awful, the mischief a woman can do,
once she starts talking. And no matter how low she may
be, there’ll be some as will believe her, and some of the dirt
will stick. I’m sure the way she makes out that Mr Mellors
was one of those low, beastly men with women, is simply
shocking. And people are only too ready to believe things
against anybody, especially things like that. She declared
she’ll never leave him alone while he lives. Though what I
say is, if he was so beastly to her, why is she so anxious to
go back to him? But of course she’s coming near her change
of life, for she’s years older than he is. And these common,