What then? There was nothing for it but to go right away, right away to some place that was big enough to hide in London, perhaps. Somewhere where nobody knew her and the mere sight of her face or mention of her name would not drag into the light a string of dirty memories.
As she stood there the sound of bells floated towards her, from the village church round the bend of the road, where the ringers were amusing themselves by ringing 'Abide with Me', as one picks out a tune with one finger on the piano. But presently 'Abide with Me’ gave way to the familiar Sunday-morning jangle. 'Oh do leave my wife alone! She is so drunk she can't get home!’ the same peal that the bells of St Athelstan's had been used to ring three years ago before they were unswung. The sound planted a spear of homesi
