«Nonsense. I can see how old you are!»
«No, but-How bruised you are, your poor arm and your leg.»
«I'm sorry-«
«It's beautiful, as if you'd been fingered by a god, stained with purple.»
«Come into bed, Bradley.»
«Your knees smell of the northern sea. Has anyone ever kissed the soles of your feet before?»
«No.»
«Good. Sorry to be such a failure.»
«You know there isn't any possible failure here, Bradley. I love you.»
«I'm your slave.»
«We will be married, won't we?»
«It's impossible.»
«You needn't scream.»
«Well, why do you say these sort of abstract things that you don't mean?»
«I'm just instinctively protecting myself.»
«You haven't answered properly. You will marry me, won't you?»
«You're quite mad,» I said, «but as I told you, I'm your slave. Whatever you go on wanting will be the law of my being.»
«That's settled then. Oh dear, I am so tired.»
We both were. After we had turned off the light she said, «And another thing, Bradley. Today has been the happiest day I have ever had in my whole life.»
I was asleep two seconds later. We woke at dawn and embraced each other again, but with the same result.
The next day the mist was still there, thicker, still moving in from the sea with a sort of relentless marching motion, passing by the house in a steady purposive manner like a shadowy army bound for some distant hosting. We watched it, sitting laced together in the window seat of the little sitting-room in the early morning.
After breakfast we decided to walk inland and look for a shop. The air was chilly and Julian was wearing one of my jackets as an overcoat, since it had not occurred to her to purchase a coat during her shopping spree. We walked along a footpath beside a little stream full of watercress and then came to a signalman's cottage and crossed the railway and then went over a humpy bridge which was reflecting itself in a very quiet canal. The sun was piercing the mist now and rolling it up into great cloudy spheres of gold in the midst of which we walked as between huge balls which never quite touched us or touched each other. I felt very troubled about what had happened, or rather not happened, during the night, but I was also being made insanely happy by Julian's presence. To torment us I said, «We can't stay here forever, you know.»
«Don't use that tone of voice. That's your 'despair.' Not again.»
