Page 463 - sons-and-lovers

‘Mother,’ he said, ‘I s’ll make a painter that they’ll attend
to.’
She sniffed in her quaint fashion. It was like a half-
pleased shrug of the shoulders.
‘Very well, my boy, we’ll see,’ she said.
‘You shall see, my pigeon! You see if you’re not swanky
one of these days!’
‘I’m quite content, my boy,’ she smiled.
‘But you’ll have to alter. Look at you with Minnie!’
Minnie was the small servant, a girl of fourteen.
‘And what about Minnie?’ asked Mrs. Morel, with dig-
nity.
‘I heard her this morning: ‘Eh, Mrs. Morel! I was going
to do that,’ when you went out in the rain for some coal,’ he
said. ‘That looks a lot like your being able to manage ser-
vants!’
‘Well, it was only the child’s niceness,’ said Mrs. Morel.
‘And you apologising to her: ‘You can’t do two things at
once, can you?’’
‘She WAS busy washing up,’ replied Mrs. Morel.
‘And what did she say? ‘It could easy have waited a bit.
Now look how your feet paddle!’’
‘Yes—brazen young baggage!’ said Mrs. Morel, smiling.
He looked at his mother, laughing. She was quite warm
and rosy again with love of him. It seemed as if all the sun-
shine were on her for a moment. He continued his work
gladly. She seemed so well when she was happy that he for-
got her grey hair.
And that year she went with him to the Isle of Wight for

Sons and Lovers