Page 358 - sons-and-lovers

‘If it is good,’ she said.
Paul, of course, coloured.
‘You mean if it is high-class and trained?’ he said.
‘I think a voice needs training before the singing is any-
thing,’ she said.
‘You might as well insist on having people’s voices trained
before you allowed them to talk,’ he replied. ‘Really, people
sing for their own pleasure, as a rule.’
‘And it may be for other people’s discomfort.’
‘Then the other people should have flaps to their ears,’
he replied.
The boys laughed. There was a silence. He flushed deeply,
and ate in silence.
After tea, when all the men had gone but Paul, Mrs. Leiv-
ers said to Clara:
‘And you find life happier now?’
‘Infinitely.’
‘And you are satisfied?’
‘So long as I can be free and independent.’
‘And you don’t MISS anything in your life?’ asked Mrs.
Leivers gently.
‘I’ve put all that behind me.’
Paul had been feeling uncomfortable during this dis-
course. He got up.
‘You’ll find you’re always tumbling over the things you’ve
put behind you,’ he said. Then he took his departure to the
cowsheds. He felt he had been witty, and his manly pride
was high. He whistled as he went down the brick track.
Miriam came for him a little later to know if he would go