He put his arms round her with the tears running down his cheeks, and she nestled to him like a tired child and fell asleep again.
When she woke the second time the room was full of the pale November sunshine. She looked round it curiously for a moment, then her mind seemed to give up the effort to remember where she was and she looked at him.
“I do love you, Freddy,” she said.
The morning sounds of the farm came in through the open window and she smiled. “Of course, I’m at Thorpe. I dreamt I was with Dick.”
Outside, Ruth went across the terrace to her farm work. Her face was that of one who holds secure some hidden store of happiness. She sang to herself as she went:
“When I have reached my journey’s end,
And I am dead and free.”
The words floated up clear and sweet through the still air.
“Dead and free.” Violet repeated them in a small faint voice, and again Fear gripped Riversley by the throat. He longed to hold her more closely and dared not. There seemed no perceptible substance to hold. His mouth went dry while he struggled with his difficulty of speech.
“The journey is worth making too, Vi,” he said.