a crowded thirdclass compartment. Roger shrieked and
kicked at leaving her, and leaned howling from the window, while Marion
said over and over again, "Mummy's so sorry ... it's only that just now
she isn't well enough to look after you both ... and Richard's the
eldest, so he must stay ... and you'll be back ever so soon.... And
there's such lovely sands at Dawlish...."

All the people in the corner-seats had looked with distaste at this
plain, ill-behaved child and had cast commending glances on Richard, who
stood by her side on the platform, absorbedly watching the porters
wheeling their trucks along, but always keeping on the alert so that he
never got in anyone's way. She couldn't bear that. She wanted to scream
out: "How dare you look like that at this poor little soul who has been
sinned against from the moment of his begetting? Think of it, his mother
hates him!"

She looked wildly at Susan for some comfort, but found her pink with
grave anger. Well, it was better for Roger that Susan should feel thus
about her. So she went on with these murmurs, which she felt the child
might detect as insincere at any moment, until the green flag waved. She
watched the diminishing train with a criminally light heart. Richard
began to jump up and down. "Mummie! Won't it be lovely--just us two!"

It was lovely. It was iniquitously lovely. In the morning Richard ran
into her room and flung himself, all dewy after the night's long sleep,
into her bed and nuzzled into her and gave her endless love which did
not have to be interrupted because the other child was standing at the
head of the bed, its pale eyes asking for its share of kisses. When he
went to school, she stood at the door and watched him run along the
garden to the gate, flinging out his arms and legs quite straight as a
foal does, and was exultingly proud of being a mother as she had not
been when there ran behind him Roger on weak, ambling limbs. When he
returned, they had their meal together to the tune of happy laughter,
for there was now no third to spill its food or say it was feeling sick
suddenly or babble silly things. In the afternoon she had to drive him
out to go and play games with the other boys. Much rather would he have
stayed with her, and when she called him back for a last hug he did not
struggle in her arms but gave her back kiss for kiss. She always changed
her dress for tea, and arranged her hair loosely like a woman in a
picture, and went out in