She nodded. It was a strange resigned gesture, which again was something he had not envisaged. She was leaning back against the chintz shell as high as her head and he saw her face as if he had never seen it before. It was such a harmless kindly old face. Not at all clever, but mild and peacefully beautiful in repose. He looked away hastily and there was silence between them until he forced his smile back and his eyes looked like a sorry ape’s again. He was strangely loth to hurry and he began to coax her as he had done so often before.
“Sorry, old lady, it never occurred to me that you would mind. You don’t really, do you? It was a damned silly thing to do but I knew you and Freddy so well that I suppose I thought I had some sort of right.”
“Yes,” she said, still in the same flat resign
