Nothing I'll bear from thee
But nakedness, thou detestable town!
THAT was an appalling night. René lay with his wound roughly
staunched. Ann crouched in the darkness by the bedside, fondling his
hand, clinging to him, occasionally weeping. Both watched the light
come creeping over the roofs and chimneys. Neither could say a word.
Their eyes met, and hers were fixed hungrily on his face like a dog's
that has been whipped for fighting. She looked so scared that he
desired only to reassure her.
"Ann," he said.
She kissed his hand and fondled it, and pressed it to her cheek, and
bathed it in her tears and kissed away the tears.
"You'd better fetch Kilner," he said. "He'll know what to do."
"Don't let him know how it happened. Don't let him know I did it."
"No. Go and fetch him."
"Oh! I thought you was dead. I thought you was dead. Oh! Renny, dear,
what should I ha' done if you'd been dead, my dear?"
"Go and fetch Kilner. He'll tell us what to do."
She brought Kilner and left them together. René made a clumsy attempt
to shield Ann in a very incoherent account of the affair. Kilner saw
through it but acquiesced in the intention.
"Can you move?" he asked.
"I think so."
"Can you walk to a doctor's? There's one just round the corner. Better
than having him here. Some doctors talk. You'll be better out of
this."
Leaning on Kilner's arm, René managed to reach the doctor's, but there
he fainted. Kilner invented a story of an early morning street attack,
and the doctor, who was not interested, swallowed it. He patched René
up, gave him a prescription, and told him to call again that day. René
disliked the man so much that he refused inwardly ever to go near him
again. Between them they had half the fee, and promised to send round
the rest.
Kilner made René comfortable in his room and was then sent off to find
Miss Cleethorpe.
Lotta came at once. She and Kilner liked each other. Kilner had begun
to see the affair in a humorous light. Anything to do with René was to
him never very far short of absurdity.
"I wish I'd thought of it like that before," he said. "I'd never have
let him go to her. I might have known he would make a mess of it. He
was simply bursting with exaltation, and when he's like that it never
occurs to him that other people may have a different view. I half
believe he expected Ann to share his enthusiasm for the other
lady----"