Sheglancedathimangrily。`Nowonderthechildcried,’shesaid,`ifyoushotitwhenshewasthere。Nowondershecried!’
  HelookedintoConnie’seyes,laconic,contemptuous,nothidinghisfeelings。AndagainConnieflushed;shefeltshehadbeenmakingascene,themandidnotrespecther。
  `Whatisyourname?’shesaidplayfullytothechild。`Won’tyoutellmeyourname?’
  Sniffs;thenveryaffectedlyinapipingvoice:`ConnieMellors!’
  `ConnieMellors!Well,that’sanicename!AnddidyoucomeoutwithyourDaddy,andheshotapussy?Butitwasabadpussy!’
  Thechildlookedather,withbold,darkeyesofscrutiny,sizingherup,andhercondolence。
  `IwantedtostopwithmyGran,’saidthelittlegirl。
  `Didyou?ButwhereisyourGran?’
  Thechildliftedanarm,pointingdownthedrive。`Atth’cottidge。’
  `Atthecottage!Andwouldyouliketogobacktoher?’
  Sudden,shudderingquiversofreminiscentsobs。`Yes!’
  `Comethen,shallItakeyou?ShallItakeyoutoyourGran?ThenyourDaddycandowhathehastodo。’Sheturnedtotheman。`Itisyourlittlegirl,isn’tit?’
  Hesaluted,andmadeaslightmovementoftheheadinaffirmation。
  `IsupposeIcantakehertothecottage?’askedConnie。
  `IfyourLadyshipwishes。’
  Againhelookedintohereyes,withthatcalm,searchingdetachedglance。
  Amanverymuchalone,andonhisown。
  `Wouldyouliketocomewithmetothecottage,toyourGran,dear?’
  Thechildpeepedupagain。`Yes!’shesimpered。
  Conniedislikedher;thespoilt,falselittlefemale。Neverthelessshewipedherfaceandtookherhand。Thekeepersalutedinsilence。
  `Goodmorning!’saidConnie。
  Itwasnearlyamiletothecottage,andConnieseniorwaswellredbyConniejuniorbythetimethegame-keeper’spicturesquelittlehomewasinsight。Thechildwasalreadyasfulltothebrimwithtricksasalittlemonkey,andsoself-assured。
  Atthecottagethedoorstoodopen,andtherewasarattlingheardinside。
  Connielingered,thechildslippedherhand,andranindoors。
  `Gran!Gran!’
  `Why,areyerbacka’ready!’
  Thegrandmotherhadbeenblackleadingthestove,itwasSaturdaymorning。
  Shecametothedoorinhersackingapron,ablacklead-brushinherhand,andablacksmudgeonhernose。Shewasalittle,ratherdrywoman。
  `Why,whatever?’shesaid,hastilywipingherarmacrossherfaceasshesawConniestandingoutside。
  `Goodmorning!’saidConnie。`Shewascrying,soIjustbroughtherhome。’
  Thegrandmotherlookedaroundswiftlyatthechild:
  `Why,wheerwasyerDad?’
  Thelittlegirlclungtohergrandmother’sskirtsandsimpered。
  `Hewasthere,’saidConnie,`buthe’dshotapoachingcat,andthechildwasupset。’
  `Oh,you’dnorightt’avebothered,LadyChatterley,I’msure!I’msureitwasverygoodofyou,butyoushouldn’t’avebothered。Why,dideveryousee!’——andtheoldwomanturnedtothechild:`FancyLadyChatterleytakin’allthattroubleoveryer!Why,sheshouldn’t’avebothered!’
  `Itwasnobother,justawalk,’saidConniesmiling。
  `Why,I’msure’twasverykindofyou,Imustsay!Soshewascrying!
  Iknewthere’dbesomethingaforetheygotfar。She’sfrightenedof’im,that’swheeritis。Seems’e’salmostastrangerto’er,fairastranger,andIdon’tthinkthey’retwoas’dhititoffveryeasy。He’sgotfunnyways。’
  Conniedidn’tknowwhattosay。
  `Look,Gran!’simperedthechild。
  Theoldwomanlookeddownatthesixpenceinthelittlegirl’shand。
  `An’sixpencean’all!Oh,yourLadyship,youshouldn’t,youshouldn’t。
  Why,isn’tLadyChatterleygoodtoyer!Myword,you’realuckygirlthismorning!’
  Shepronouncedthename,asallthepeopledid:Chat’ley——Isn’tLadyChat’leygoodtoyou!’——Conniecouldn’thelplookingattheoldwoman’snose,andthelatteragainvaguelywipedherfacewiththebackofherwrist,butmissedthesmudge。
  Conniewasmovingaway`Well,thankyoueversomuch,LadyChat’ley,I’msure。SaythankyoutoLadyChat’ley!’——thislasttothechild。
  `Thankyou,’pipedthechild。
  `There’sadear!’laughedConnie,andshemovedaway,saying`Goodmorning’,heartilyrelievedtogetawayfromthecontact。
  Curious,shethought,thatthatthin,proudmanshouldhavethatlittle,sharpwomanforamother!
  Andtheoldwoman,assoonasConniehadgone,rushedtothebitofmirrorinthescullery,andlookedatherface。Seeingit,shestampedherfootwithimpatience。`Ofcourseshehadtocatchmeinmycoarseapron,andadirtyface!Niceideashe’dgetofme!’
  ConniewentslowlyhometoWragby。`Home!’……itwasawarmwordtouseforthatgreat,wearywarren。Butthenitwasawordthathadhaditsday。
  Itwassomehowcancelled。Allthegreatwords,itseemedtoConnie,werecancelledforhergeneration:love,joy,happiness,home,mother,father,husband,allthesegreat,dynamicwordswerehalfdeadnow,anddyingfromdaytoday。Homewasaplaceyoulivedin,lovewasathingyoudidn’tfoolyourselfabout,joywasawordyouappliedtoagoodCharleston,happinesswasatermofhypocrisyusedtobluffotherpeople,afatherwasanindividualwhoenjoyedhisownexistence,ahusbandwasamanyoulivedwithandkeptgoinginspirits。Asforsex,thelastofthegreatwords,itwasjustacocktailtermforanexcitementthatbuckedyouupforawhile,thenleftyoumoreraggythanever。Frayed!Itwasasiftheverymaterialyouweremadeofwascheapstuff,andwasfrayingouttonothing。
  Allthatreallyremainedwasastubbornstoicism:andinthattherewasacertainpleasure。Intheveryexperienceofthenothingnessoflife,phaseafterphase,é;tapeafteré;tape,therewasacertaingrislysatisfaction。Sothat’sthat!Alwaysthiswasthelastutterance:home,love,marriage,Michaelis:Sothat’sthat!
  Andwhenonedied,thelastwordstolifewouldbe:Sothat’sthat!
  Money?Perhapsonecouldn’tsaythesamethere。Moneyonealwayswanted。
  Money,Success,thebitch-goddess,asTommyDukespersistedincallingit,afterHenryJames,thatwasapermanentnecessity。Youcouldn’tspendyourlastsou,andsayfinally:Sothat’sthat!No,ifyoulivedevenanothertenminutes,youwantedafewmoresousforsomethingorother。
  Justtokeepthebusinessmechanicallygoing,youneededmoney。Youhadtohaveit。Moneyyouhavetohave。Youneedn’treallyhaveanythingelse。Sothat’sthat!
  Since,ofcourse,it’snotyourownfaultyouarealive。Onceyouarealive,moneyisanecessity,andtheonlyabsolutenecessity。Alltherestyoucangetalongwithout,atapinch。Butnotmoney。Emphatically,that’sthat!
  ShethoughtofMichaelis,andthemoneyshemighthavehadwithhim;
  andeventhatshedidn’twant。ShepreferredthelesseramountwhichshehelpedCliffordtomakebyhiswriting。Thatsheactuallyhelpedtomake——`CliffordandItogether,wemaketwelvehundredayearoutofwriting’;sosheputittoherself。Makemoney!Makeit!Outofnowhere。Wringitoutofthethinair!Thelastfeattobehumanlyproudof!Therestall-my-eye-Betty-Martin。
  SosheploddedhometoClifford,tojoinforceswithhimagain,tomakeanotherstoryoutofnothingness:andastorymeantmoney。Cliffordseemedtocareverymuchwhetherhisstorieswereconsideredfirst-classliteratureornot。Strictly,shedidn’tcare。Nothinginit!saidherfather。Twelvehundredpoundslastyear!wastheretortsimpleandfinal。
  Ifyouwereyoung,youjustsetyourteeth,andbitonandheldon,tillthemoneybegantoflowfromtheinvisible;itwasaquestionofpower。
  Itwasaquestionofwill;asubtle,subtle,powerfulemanationofwilloutofyourselfbroughtbacktoyouthemysteriousnothingnessofmoneyawordonabitofpaper。Itwasasortofmagic,certainlyitwastriumph。
  Thebitch-goddess!Well,ifonehadtoprostituteoneself,letitbetoabitch-goddess!Onecouldalwaysdespiseherevenwhileoneprostitutedoneselftoher,whichwasgood。
  Clifford,ofcourse,hadstillmanychildishtaboosandfetishes。Hewantedtobethought`reallygood’,whichwasallcock-a-hoopynonsense。
  Whatwasreallygoodwaswhatactuallycaughton。Itwasnogoodbeingreallygoodandgettingleftwithit。Itseemedasifmostofthe`reallygood’menjustmissedthebus。Afterallyouonlylivedonelife,andifyoumissedthebus,youwerejustleftonthepavement,alongwiththerestofthefailures。
  ConniewascontemplatingawinterinLondonwithClifford,nextwinter。
  Heandshehadcaughtthebusallright,sotheymightaswellrideontopforabit,andshowit。
  Theworstofitwas,Cliffordtendedtobecomevague,absent,andtofallintofitsofvacantdepression。Itwasthewoundtohispsychecomingout。ButitmadeConniewanttoscream。OhGod,ifthemechanismoftheconsciousnessitselfwasgoingtogowrong,thenwhatwasonetodo?Hangitall,onedidone’sbit!Wasonetobeletdownabsolutely?
  Sometimessheweptbitterly,butevenassheweptshewassayingtoherself:Sillyfool,wettinghankies!Asifthatwouldgetyouanywhere!
  SinceMichaelis,shehadmadeuphermindshewantednothing。Thatseemedthesimplestsolutionoftheotherwiseinsoluble。Shewantednothingmorethanwhatshe’dgot;onlyshewantedtogetaheadwithwhatshe’dgot:
  Clifford,thestories,Wragby,theLady-Chatterleybusiness,moneyandfame,suchasitwas……shewantedtogoaheadwithitall。Love,sex,allthatsortofstuff,justwater-ices!Lickitupandforgetit。Ifyoudon’thangontoitinyourmind,it’snothing。Sexespecially……nothing!Makeupyourmindtoit,andyou’vesolvedtheproblem。Sexandacocktail:
  theybothlastedaboutaslong,hadthesameeffect,andamountedtoaboutthesamething。
  Butachild,ababy!Thatwasstilloneofthesensations。Shewouldventureverygingerlyonthatexperiment。Therewasthemantoconsider,anditwascurious,therewasn’tamanintheworldwhosechildrenyouwanted。Mick’schildren!Repulsivethought!Asliefhaveachildtoarabbit!
  TommyDukes?hewasverynice,butsomehowyoucouldn’tassociatehimwithababy,anothergeneration。Heendedinhimself。AndoutofalltherestofClifford’sprettywideacquaintance,therewasnotamanwhodidnotrousehercontempt,whenshethoughtofhavingachildbyhim。Therewereseveralwhowouldhavebeenquitepossibleaslover,evenMick。Buttoletthembreedachildonyou!Ugh!Humiliationandabomination。
  Sothatwasthat!
  Nevertheless,Conniehadthechildatthebackofhermind。Wait!wait!
  Shewouldsiftthegenerationsofmenthroughhersieve,andseeifshecouldn’tfindonewhowoulddo——`GoyeintothestreetsandbywaysofJerusalem,andseeifyoucanfindaman。’IthadbeenimpossibletofindamanintheJerusalemoftheprophet,thoughtherewerethousandsofmalehumans。Butaman!C’estuneautrechose!
  Shehadanideathathewouldhavetobeaforeigner:notanEnglishman,stilllessanIrishman。Arealforeigner。
  Butwait!wait!NextwintershewouldgetCliffordtoLondon;thefollowingwintershewouldgethimabroadtotheSouthofFrance,Italy。Wait!Shewasinnohurryaboutthechild。Thatwasherownprivateaffair,andtheonepointonwhich,inherownqueer,femaleway,shewasserioustothebottomofhersoul。Shewasnotgoingtoriskanychancecomer,notshe!
  Onemighttakealoveralmostatanymoment,butamanwhoshouldbegetachildonone……wait!wait!it’saverydifferentmatter——`GoyeintothestreetsandbywaysofJerusalem……’Itwasnotaquestionoflove;
  itwasaquestionofaman。Why,onemightevenratherhatehim,personally。Yetifhewastheman,whatwouldone’spersonalhatematter?
  Thisbusinessconcernedanotherpartofoneself。
  Ithadrainedasusual,andthepathsweretoosoddenforClifford’schair,butConniewouldgoout。Shewentoutaloneeverydaynow,mostlyinthewood,whereshewasreallyalone。Shesawnobodythere。
  Thisday,however,Cliffordwantedtosendamessagetothekeeper,andastheboywaslaidupwithinfluenza,somebodyalwaysseemedtohaveinfluenzaatWragby,Conniesaidshewouldcallatthecottage。
  Theairwassoftanddead,asifalltheworldwereslowlydying。Greyandclammyandsilent,evenfromtheshufflingofthecollieries,forthepitswereworkingshorttime,andtodaytheywerestoppedaltogether。Theendofallthings!
  Inthewoodallwasutterlyinertandmotionless,onlygreatdropsfellfromthebareboughs,withahollowlittlecrash。Fortherest,amongtheoldtreeswasdepthwithindepthofgrey,hopelessinertia,silence,nothingness。
  Conniewalkeddimlyon。Fromtheoldwoodcameanancientmelancholy,somehowsoothingtoher,betterthantheharshinsentienceoftheouterworld。Shelikedtheinwardnessoftheremnantofforest,theunspeakingreticenceoftheoldtrees。Theyseemedaverypowerofsilence,andyetavitalpresence。They,too,werewaiting:obstinately,stoicallywaiting,andgivingoffapotencyofsilence。Perhapstheywereonlywaitingfortheend;tobecutdown,clearedaway,theendoftheforest,forthemtheendofallthings。Butperhapstheirstrongandaristocraticsilence,thesilenceofstrongtrees,meantsomethingelse。
  Asshecameoutofthewoodonthenorthside,thekeeper’scottage,aratherdark,brownstonecottage,withgablesandahandsomechimney,lookeduninhabited,itwassosilentandalone。Butathreadofsmokerosefromthechimney,andthelittlerailed-ingardeninthefrontofthehousewasdugandkeptverytidy。Thedoorwasshut。
  Nowshewashereshefeltalittleshyoftheman,withhiscuriousfar-seeingeyes。Shedidnotlikebringinghimorders,andfeltlikegoingawayagain。Sheknockedsoftly,noonecame。Sheknockedagain,butstillnotloudly。Therewasnoanswer。Shepeepedthroughthewindow,andsawthedarklittleroom,withitsalmostsinisterprivacy,notwantingtobeinvaded。
  Shestoodandlistened,anditseemedtohersheheardsoundsfromthebackofthecottage。Havingfailedtomakeherselfheard,hermettlewasroused,shewouldnotbedefeated。
  Soshewentroundthesideofthehouse。Atthebackofthecottagethelandrosesteeply,sothebackyardwassunken,andenclosedbyalowstonewall。Sheturnedthecornerofthehouseandstopped。Inthelittleyardtwopacesbeyondher,themanwaswashinghimself,utterlyunaware。