Любовник леди Чаттерлей
Chapter 8
’
’Idon’tsupposehedid.’
’Still,Idon’tseewhyheshouldmind.It’snothishome,afterall!It’snothisprivateabode.Idon’tseewhyIshouldn’tsitthereifIwantto.’
’Quite!’saidClifford.’Hethinkstoomuchofhimself,thatman.’
’Doyouthinkhedoes?’
’Oh,decidedly!Hethinkshe’ssomethingexceptional.Youknowhehadawifehedidn’tgetonwith,sohejoinedupin1915andwassenttoIndia,Ibelieve.AnyhowhewasblacksmithtothecavalryinEgyptforatime;alwayswasconnectedwithhorses,acleverfellowthatway.ThensomeIndiancoloneltookafancytohim,andhewasmadealieutenant.Yes,theygavehimacommission.IbelievehewentbacktoIndiawithhiscolonel,anduptothenorth-westfrontier.Hewasill;hewasapension.Hedidn’tcomeoutofthearmytilllastyear,Ibelieve,andthen,naturally,itisn’teasyforamanlikethattogetbacktohisownlevel.He’sboundtoflounder.Buthedoeshisdutyallright,asfarasI’mconcerned.OnlyI’mnothavinganyoftheLieutenantMellorstouch.’
’HowcouldtheymakehimanofficerwhenhespeaksbroadDerbyshire?’
’Hedoesn’t...exceptbyfitsandstarts.Hecanspeakperfectlywell,forhim.Isupposehehasanideaifhe’scomedowntotheranksagain,he’dbetterspeakastheranksspeak.’
’Whydidn’tyoutellmeabouthimbefore?’
’Oh,I’venopatiencewiththeseromances.They’retheruinofallorder.It’sathousandpitiestheyeverhappened.’
Conniewasinclinedtoagree.
