My son, I know, would be only toohappy to help you
in any way he could. Adding, though, in spite of herself: Butthen he has always been
so peculiar.
Perhaps, though, she had a dim foreboding of what
awaited her.
Then, every one in the township knew, of course,
where she was boundfor.
An up-country vacancy was on thepoint of occurring.
Or how much had been paid offon the mortgage?
The doctors bin and lighted a fire on the surgery
table.
Once Cuffy had said: Oh, CANT Bridget go instead of
me?
How angry Richard would be, too,if she
reappeared!
And she patted his hand: But sonice and private,
dear.
The day she told them theyd got to go away and live
where there wasntany sea, hed been naughty.
And first hed tried to take em without herseeing
him . Beat her brains as she would, Mary would find noway out. All this, too, with
one anxious ear turned towards home, where thingsgrew worse instead of
better.
She couldneither get at him nor get a word out of
him. Ignoring her blunt question: But if it isnt true apoplexy, then whatis it? None
the less, when the time for parting came he wept bitterly,clinging like a child to
her skirts.
The doctors bin and lighted a fire on the surgery
table. For Mary had at last reached what seemed the limits of human endurance. Of
course you couldnt carry Dobbin or the shop; but, my! And by now he was too deeply
sunk inhimself to put awkward questions.
Hed cried and stamped and pushed peoplewhen they
tried to comfort him.
She put out her arms, put them round him, to hold,
toprotect.
Once Cuffy had said: Oh, CANT Bridget go instead of
me? Not much more than an hour now,till it was due to sound. All of whom, too,
coulddo in a twinkling the things that came so hard to her. Suppose I induced him to
leave home for a time? Is that because its going to be a post office? And tillthen,
Richard, think how comfortable youre going to be here. So she went on, as usual
making Cuffy the scapegoat for her nervousperplexity. The questions lumbered along,
she sittingthe while fiercely knotting her fingers. None the less, when the time for
parting came he wept bitterly,clinging like a child to her skirts. But on this night
no lovingarms reached out to her, to soothe and console.