“In the name of God, Rose, why don’t you make an effort to pull yourself together. Come on now, and I’ll wrap you up and you can sit downstairs all comfortable till it’s time to get back into bed. It’ll be a change for you, to get out of this old room.”

“You’re very nice all of a sudden, Hubert. All concerned about me.

When she looked directly at him her eyes were wild and afraid with malice.

“What ails you? Now what’s ailing you?” he cried.

“Nothing ails me, except that I’m sick and tired of being made an excuse of. I hate a hypocrite. If you want to go back downstairs, go on.”

“Are you gone mad, or what?”

“Oh yes. The first minute I go against you, I’m gone mad. All I want is to be left in peace.”

“Look, bang on the floor or if you want anything. I’ll be down there if you want anything. I declare to God, I don’t know who’d have patience with you.”

“I won’t want anything,” she said dispiritedly.

She was lying back as passive and stricken as though she had not spoken for hours. She did not look up when he went out of the room, but she listened to his steps going down the stairs, and knew a moment later, by a stealthy settling of the house, that he was buried in his armchair by the fire again, with his pipe and the Sunday crossword. She drew a difficult breath of relief and exhaustion and eagerly poured herself a cup of tea.

It was not often that she was sick. She had a strong constitution. She was originally from a country district. She liked to work around in her little back garden, keeping the grass bright and whole, and growing lupine, London pride, wallflowers, freesia, snowdrops, lilies of the valley, forget-me-nots, pansies, nasturtiums, marigolds, and roses. She had other flowers, too. In one corner she had grown ambitious and made a rock garden. In front of the house, in the tiny plot of ground, hardly bigger than a tablecloth, she had peonies, poppies, and crocuses, and a diamond of frail new grass. In the window of her front sitting room she had an array of ferns, and in the spring hyacinths and tulips in red pots.