at your mother said, wouldn't that?"

"No. If you'd given yourself to Colin I should only have thought it was
your goodness. It would have been good because you did it."

"How queer. That's what Jerrold said. Then he _did_ love me."

"I told you he loved you."

"Then I don't care. Nothing else matters."

"That's all you have to say to me?"

"Yes. Unless I lie."

"You'd lie for Jerrold."

"For him. Not to him. I should never need to."

"You've no need to lie to me, dear. I know you better than he does. You
forget that I didn't think what he thought."

"That only shows that he knew."

"Knew what?"

"What I am. What I might do if I really cared."

"There are things you'd never do. You'd never do anything mean or
dishonourable or cruel."

"Oh, you don't know what I'd do...Don't worry, Eliot. I shall be too
busy with the land and with Colin to do very much."

"I'm not worrying."

All the same he wondered which of them knew Anne best, he or Anne
herself, or Jerrold.

XI

INTERIM

i

Colin thought with terror of the time when Queenie would come back from
the war. At any moment she might get leave and come; if she had not had
it yet that only made it more likely that she would have it soon.

The vague horror that waited for him every morning had turned into this
definite fear of Queenie. He was afraid of her temper, of her voice and
eyes, of her crude, malignant thoughts, of her hatred of Anne. More than
anything he was afraid of her power over him, of her vehement,
exhausting love. He was afraid of her beauty.

One morning, early in September, the wire came. Colin shook with
agitation as he read it.

"What is it?" Anne said.

"Queenie. She's got leave. She'll be here today. At four o'clock."

"Don't you want to see her?"

"No, I don't."

"Then you'd better drive over to Kingden and look at those bullocks of
Ledbury's."

"I don't know anything about bullocks. They ought to be straight lines
from their heads to their tails. That's about all I know."

"Never mind, you'll have gone to look at bullocks. And you can tell
Ledbury I'm coming over to-morrow. Do you mind driving yourself?"

Colin did mind. He was afraid to drive by himself; but he was much more
afraid of Queenie.

"You can take Harry. And leave me to settle Queenie."

Colin went off with Harry to Chipping Kingden. And at four o'clock
Queenie came. Her hard, fierce eyes stared past Anne, looking for Colin.

"Where's Col