MrsBoltonwasforamomentbreathless,flabbergasted。Thenshedidn’tbelieveit:shesawinitaruse。Yetdoctorscoulddosuchthingsnowadays。
Theymightsortofgraftseed。
`Well,myLady,Ionlyhopeandprayyoumay。Itwouldbelovelyforyou:andforeverybody。Myword,achildinWragby,whatadifferenceitwouldmake!’
`Wouldn’tit!’saidConnie。
AndshechosethreeR。A。picturesofsixtyyearsago,tosendtotheDuchessofShortlandsforthatlady’snextcharitablebazaar。Shewascalled`thebazaarduchess’,andshealwaysaskedallthecountytosendthingsforhertosell。ShewouldbedelightedwiththreeframedR。A。s。Shemightevencall,onthestrengthofthem。HowfuriousCliffordwaswhenshecalled!
Butohmydear!MrsBoltonwasthinkingtoherself。IsitOliverMellors’
childyou’repreparingusfor?Ohmydear,thatwouldbeaTevershallbabyintheWragbycradle,myword!Wouldn’tshameit,neither!
Amongothermonstrositiesinthislumberroomwasalargishblackjapannedbox,excellentlyandingeniouslymadesomesixtyorseventyyearsago,andfittedwitheveryimaginableobject。Ontopwasaconcentratedtoiletset:brushes,bottles,mirrors,combs,boxes,eventhreebeautifullittlerazorsinsafetysheaths,shaving-bowlandall。Underneathcameasortofescritoireoutfit:blotters,pens,ink-bottles,paper,envelopes,memorandumbooks:andthenaperfectsewing-outfit,withthreedifferentsizedscissors,thimbles,needles,silksandcottons,darningegg,alloftheverybestqualityandperfectlyfinished。Thentherewasalittlemedicinestore,withbottleslabelledLaudanum,TinctureofMyrrh,Ess。
Clovesandsoon:butempty。Everythingwasperfectlynew,andthewholething,whenshutup,wasasbigasasmall,butfatweekendbag。Andinside,itfittedtogetherlikeapuzzle。Thebottlescouldnotpossiblyhavespilled:
therewasn’troom。
Thethingwaswonderfullymadeandcontrived,excellentcraftsmanshipoftheVictorianorder。Butsomehowitwasmonstrous。SomeChatterleymustevenhavefeltit,forthethinghadneverbeenused。Ithadapeculiarsoullessness。
YetMrsBoltonwasthrilled。
`Lookwhatbeautifulbrushes,soexpensive,eventheshavingbrushes,threeperfectones!No!andthosescissors!They’rethebestthatmoneycouldbuy。Oh,Icallitlovely!’
`Doyou?’saidConnie。`Thenyouhaveit。’
`Ohno,myLady!’
`Ofcourse!ItwillonlylieheretillDoomsday。Ifyouwon’thaveit,I’llsendittotheDuchessaswellasthepictures,andshedoesn’tdeservesomuch。Dohaveit!’
`Oh,yourLadyship!Why,Ishallneverbeabletothankyou。’
`Youneedn’ttry,’laughedConnie。
AndMrsBoltonsaileddownwiththehugeandveryblackboxinherarms,flushingbrightpinkinherexcitement。
MrBettsdroveherinthetraptoherhouseinthevillage,withthebox。Andshehadtohaveafewfriendsin,toshowit:theschool-mistress,thechemist’swife,MrsWeedontheundercashier’swife。Theythoughtitmarvellous。AndthenstartedthewhisperofLadyChatterley’schild。
`Wonders’llnevercease!’saidMrsWeedon。
ButMrsBoltonwasconvinced,ifitdidcome,itwouldbeSirClifford’schild。Sothere!
Notlongafter,therectorsaidgentlytoClifford:
`AndmaywereallyhopeforanheirtoWragby?Ah,thatwouldbethehandofGodinmercy,indeed!’
`Well!Wemayhope,’saidClifford,withafaintirony,andatthesametime,acertainconviction。Hehadbeguntobelieveitreallypossibleitmightevenbehischild。
ThenoneafternooncameLeslieWinter,SquireWinter,aseverybodycalledhim:lean,immaculate,andseventy:andeveryinchagentleman,asMrsBoltonsaidtoMrsBetts。Everymillimetreindeed!Andwithhisold-fashioned,ratherhaw-haw!mannerofspeaking,heseemedmoreoutofdatethanbagwigs。Time,inherflight,dropsthesefineoldfeathers。
Theydiscussedthecollieries。Clifford’sideawas,thathiscoal,eventhepoorsort,couldbemadeintohardconcentratedfuelthatwouldburnatgreatheatiffedwithcertaindamp,acidulatedairatafairlystrongpressure。Ithadlongbeenobservedthatinaparticularlystrong,wetwindthepit-bankburnedveryvivid,gaveoffhardlyanyfumes,andleftafinepowderofash,insteadoftheslowpinkgravel。
`Butwherewillyoufindtheproperenginesforburningyourfuel?’
askedWinter。
`I’llmakethemmyself。AndI’llusemyfuelmyself。AndI’llsellelectricpower。I’mcertainIcoulddoit。’
`Ifyoucandoit,thensplendid,splendid,mydearboy。Haw!Splendid!
IfIcanbeofanyhelp,Ishallbedelighted。I’mafraidIamalittleoutofdate,andmycollieriesarelikeme。Butwhoknows,whenI’mgone,theremaybemenlikeyou。Splendid!Itwillemployallthemenagain,andyouwon’thavetosellyourcoal,orfailtosellit。Asplendididea,andIhopeitwillbeasuccess。IfIhadsonsofmyown,nodoubttheywouldhaveup-to-dateideasforShipley:nodoubt!Bytheway,dearboy,isthereanyfoundationtotherumourthatwemayentertainhopesofanheirtoWragby?’
`Istherearumour?’askedClifford。
`Well,mydearboy,MarshallfromFillingwoodaskedme,that’sallI
cansayaboutarumour。OfcourseIwouldn’trepeatitfortheworld,iftherewerenofoundation。’
`Well,Sir,’saidClifforduneasily,butwithstrangebrighteyes。`Thereisahope。Thereisahope。’
WintercameacrosstheroomandwrungClifford’shand。
`Mydearboy,mydearlad,canyoubelievewhatitmeanstome,tohearthat!Andtohearyouareworkinginthehopesofason:andthatyoumayagainemployeverymanatTevershall。Ah,myboy!tokeepuptheleveloftherace,andtohaveworkwaitingforanymanwhocarestowork!——’
Theoldmanwasreallymoved。
NextdayConniewasarrangingtallyellowtulipsinaglassvase。
`Connie,’saidClifford,`didyouknowtherewasarumourthatyouaregoingtosupplyWragbywithasonandheir?’
Conniefeltdimwithterror,yetshestoodquitestill,touchingtheflowers。
`No!’shesaid。`Isitajoke?Ormalice?’
Hepausedbeforeheanswered:
`Neither,Ihope。Ihopeitmaybeaprophecy。’
Conniewentonwithherflowers。
`IhadaletterfromFatherthismorning,’Shesaid。`HewantstoknowifIamawarehehasacceptedSirAlexanderCooper’sInvitationformeforJulyandAugust,totheVillaEsmeraldainVenice。’
`JulyandAugust?’saidClifford。
`Oh,Iwouldn’tstayallthattime。Areyousureyouwouldn’tcome?’
`Iwon’ttravelabroad,’saidCliffordpromptly。Shetookherflowerstothewindow。
`DoyoumindifIgo?’shesaid。Youknowitwaspromised,forthissummer。
`Forhowlongwouldyougo?’
`Perhapsthreeweeks。’
Therewassilenceforatime。
`Well,’saidCliffordslowly,andalittlegloomily。`IsupposeIcouldstanditforthreeweeks:ifIwereabsolutelysureyou’dwanttocomeback。’
`Ishouldwanttocomeback,’shesaid,withaquietsimplicity,heavywithconviction。Shewasthinkingoftheotherman。
Cliffordfeltherconviction,andsomehowhebelievedher,hebelieveditwasforhim。Hefeltimmenselyrelieved,joyfulatonce。
`Inthatcase,’hesaid,`Ithinkitwouldbeallright,don’tyou?’
`Ithinkso,’shesaid。
`You’denjoythechange?’Shelookedupathimwithstrangeblueeyes。
`IshouldliketoseeVeniceagain,’shesaid,`andtobathefromoneoftheshingleislandsacrossthelagoon。ButyouknowIloathetheLido!
AndIdon’tfancyIshalllikeSirAlexanderCooperandLadyCooper。ButifHildaisthere,andwehaveagondolaofourown:yes,itwillberatherlovely。Idowishyou’dcome。’
Shesaiditsincerely。Shewouldsolovetomakehimhappy,intheseways。
`Ah,butthinkofme,though,attheGareduNord:atCalaisquay!’
`Butwhynot?Iseeothermencarriedinlitter-chairs,whohavebeenwoundedinthewar。Besides,we’dmotoralltheway。’
`Weshouldneedtotaketwomen。’
`Ohno!We’dmanagewithField。Therewouldalwaysbeanothermanthere。’
ButCliffordshookhishead。
`Notthisyear,dear!Notthisyear!NextyearprobablyI’lltry。’
Shewentawaygloomily。Nextyear!Whatwouldnextyearbring?SheherselfdidnotreallywanttogotoVenice:notnow,nowtherewastheotherman。
Butshewasgoingasasortofdiscipline:andalsobecause,ifshehadachild,CliffordcouldthinkshehadaloverinVenice。
ItwasalreadyMay,andinJunetheyweresupposedtostart。Alwaysthesearrangements!Alwaysone’slifearrangedforone!Wheelsthatworkedoneanddroveone,andoverwhichonehadnorealcontrol!
ItwasMay,butcoldandwetagain。AcoldwetMay,goodforcornandhay!Muchthecornandhaymatternowadays!ConniehadtogointoUthwaite,whichwastheirlittletown,wheretheChatterleyswerestilltheChatterleys。Shewentalone,Fielddrivingher。
InspiteofMayandanewgreenness,thecountrywasdismal。Itwasratherchilly,andtherewassmokeontherain,andacertainsenseofexhaustvapourintheair。Onejusthadtolivefromone’sresistance。
Nowonderthesepeoplewereuglyandtough。
ThecarplougheduphillthroughthelongsqualidstraggleofTevershall,theblackenedbrickdwellings,theblackslateroofsglisteningtheirsharpedges,themudblackwithcoal-dust,thepavementswetandblack。Itwasasifdismalnesshadsoakedthroughandthrougheverything。Theutternegationofnaturalbeauty,theutternegationofthegladnessoflife,theutterabsenceoftheinstinctforshapelybeautywhicheverybirdandbeasthas,theutterdeathofthehumanintuitivefacultywasappalling。Thestacksofsoapinthegrocers’shops,therhubarbandlemonsinthegreengrocers!
theawfulhatsinthemilliners!allwentbyugly,ugly,ugly,followedbytheplaster-and-gilthorrorofthecinemawithitswetpictureannouncements,`AWoman’sLove!’,andthenewbigPrimitivechapel,primitiveenoughinitsstarkbrickandbigpanesofgreenishandraspberryglassinthewindows。
TheWesleyanchapel,higherup,wasofblackenedbrickandstoodbehindironrailingsandblackenedshrubs。TheCongregationalchapel,whichthoughtitselfsuperior,wasbuiltofrusticatedsandstoneandhadasteeple,butnotaveryhighone。Justbeyondwerethenewschoolbuildings,expensivinkbrick,andgravelledplaygroundinsideironrailings,allveryimposing,andfixingthesuggestionofachapelandaprison。StandardFivegirlswerehavingasinginglesson,justfinishingthela-me-doh-laexercisesandbeginninga`sweetchildren’ssong’。Anythingmoreunlikesong,spontaneoussong,wouldbeimpossibletoimagine:astrangebawlingyellthatfollowedtheoutlinesofatune。Itwasnotlikesavages:savageshavesubtlerhythms。
Itwasnotlikeanimals:animalsmeansomethingwhentheyyell。
Itwaslikenothingonearth,anditwascalledsinging。Conniesatandlistenedwithherheartinherboots,asFieldwasfillingpetrol。Whatcouldpossiblybecomeofsuchapeople,apeopleinwhomthelivingintuitivefacultywasdeadasnails,andonlyqueermechanicalyellsanduncannywill-powerremained?
Acoal-cartwascomingdownhill,clankingintherain。Fieldstartedupwards,pastthebigbutweary-lookingdrapersandclothingshops,thepost-office,intothelittlemarket-placeofforlornspace,whereSamBlackwaspeeringoutofthedooroftheSun,thatcalleditselfaninn,notapub,andwherethecommercialtravellersstayed,andwasbowingtoLadyChatterley’scar。
Thechurchwasawaytotheleftamongblacktrees。Thecarslidondownhill,pasttheMiners’Arms。IthadalreadypassedtheWellington,theNelson,theThreeTuns,andtheSun,nowitpassedtheMiners’Arms,thentheMechanics’
Hall,thenthenewandalmostgaudyMiners’Welfareandso,pastafewnew`villas’,outintotheblackenedroadbetweendarkhedgesanddarkgreenfields,towardsStacksGate。
Tevershall!ThatwasTevershall!MerrieEngland!Shakespeare’sEngland!
No,buttheEnglandoftoday,asConniehadrealizedsinceshehadcometoliveinit。Itwasproducinganewraceofmankind,over-consciousinthemoneyandsocialandpoliticalside,onthespontaneous,intuitivesidedead,butdead。Half-corpses,allofthem:butwithaterribleinsistentconsciousnessintheotherhalf。Therewassomethinguncannyandundergroundaboutitall。Itwasanunder-world。Andquiteincalculable。Howshallweunderstandthereactionsinhalf-corpses?WhenConniesawthegreatlorriesfullofsteel-workersfromSheffield,weird,distortedsmallishbeingslikemen,offforanexcursiontoMatlock,herbowelsfaintedandshethought:AhGod,whathasmandonetoman?Whathavetheleadersofmenbeendoingtotheirfellowmen?Theyhavereducedthemtolessthanhumanness;andnowtherecanbenofellowshipanymore!Itisjustanightmare。
Shefeltagaininawaveofterrorthegrey,grittyhopelessnessofitall。Withsuchcreaturesfortheindustrialmasses,andtheupperclassesassheknewthem,therewasnohope,nohopeanymore。Yetshewaswantingababy,andanheirtoWragby!AnheirtoWragby!Sheshudderedwithdread。
YetMellorshadcomeoutofallthis!——Yes,buthewasasapartfromitallasshewas。Eveninhimtherewasnofellowshipleft。Itwasdead。
Thefellowshipwasdead。Therewasonlyapartnessandhopelessness,asfarasallthiswasconcerned。AndthiswasEngland,thevastbulkofEngland:
asConnieknew,sinceshehadmotoredfromthecentreofit。
ThecarwasrisingtowardsStacksGate。Therainwasholdingoff,andintheaircameaqueerpellucidgleamofMay。Thecountryrolledawayinlongundulations,southtowardsthePeak,easttowardsMansfieldandNottingham。ConniewastravellingSouth。
Assheroseontothehighcountry,shecouldseeonherleft,onaheightabovetherollingland,theshadowy,powerfulbulkofWarsopCastle,darkgrey,withbelowitthereddishplasteringofminers’dwellings,newish,andbelowthosetheplumesofdarksmokeandwhitesteamfromthegreatcollierywhichputsomanythousandpoundsperannumintothepocketsoftheDukeandtheothershareholders。Thepowerfuloldcastlewasaruin,yetithungitsbulkonthelowsky-line,overtheblackplumesandthewhitethatwavedonthedampairbelow。