“Girls don’t. They grow into it, though. You see, dearie, a man’s selfish. He can’t help it; he don’t have to bear what we bear. At the best he’s stupid when it comes to understanding how we women feel. We don’t really like him any the less for that.”

“Are men selfish?” Elizabeth asked. “All of them?”

“More or less, mostly more. Because they don’t understand. So the woman’s got to be unselfish. Stands to reason she must be, or how would she fit in? A man doesn’t fit, ever. He doesn’t know how to. You go out and look at our cock. He makes a deal of noise when he finds a fat grub to eat, but when the hens come fluttering round to see what it is, he gobbles it up himself.”

“Y-es. It seems rather hard—and unfair.”

“My dear, don’t you get thinking this is a fair world for women, because it isn’t. I’m not saying that if we could start all over again we wouldn’t have things different, but seeing as how they are as they are, we’ve made the best of ’em, and we’ve learned to fit in as quickly as possible. You’ve got to put up with a lot, the Lord knows! but it’s worth it in the long run.”

Elizabeth chose another apple from the basket on her knees.

“I wonder—did Mr. Hengist—send me to you—on purpose?”

“That’s telling,” smiled Mrs. Gabriel. “Maybe he did. He told me you hadn’t got a mother, my dear, and p’raps he thought it would be a good thing if you could have a talk with someone that was a mother. He knows my life hasn’t been all honeysuckle. It’s no good talking to someone as hasn’t been through any of your sort of trouble.”

“No. I—please, go on. No one’s ever—spoken to me like this before. Not—sensible—and—and helpfully.”

“People don’t. I remember when I quarrelled with Gabriel there was a lady living down at the White Cottage who came and talked a heap of nonsense about duty and love and I don’t know what beside. She’d come and sit here and talk by the hour, until my mother told me not to listen to her rubbish, but to get on with my cooking. I remember too, one thing my mother said to me.”

“What was it?” said Elizabeth.