“I gave in, I gave in to her, else I should ha' been all right,” he said.
“To whom?” said Lilly.
“I gave in to her—and afterwards I cried, thinking of Lottie and the children. I felt my heart break, you know. And that's what did it. I should have been all right if I hadn't given in to her—”
“To whom?” said Lilly.
“Josephine. I felt, the minute I was loving her, I'd done myself. And I had. Everything came back on me. If I hadn't given in to her, I should ha' kept all right.”
“Don't bother now. Get warm and still—”
“I felt it—I felt it go, inside me, the minute I gave in to her. It's perhaps killed me.”
“No, not it. Never mind, be still. Be still, and you'll be all right in the morning.”
“It's my own fault, for giving in to her. If I'd kept myself back, my liver wouldn't have broken inside me, and I shouldn't have been sick. And I knew—”
“Never mind now. Have you drunk your tea? Lie down. Lie down, and go to sleep.”