MARY
A’ll be ready richt anough.
JOCK
A’ richt. Then we’ll leave it at that.
MARY
Aye.
[Jock goes out, closing the door quietly after him. Mary, left alone, begins to tidy up and prepare the house for the use of the day. Soon the door at the right opens, and Ellen Brown, Jock’s mother, enters. She is an old woman, but not so old as she looks; her spare figure bears all the marks of a life that is one continuous struggle against a hard fate. She is dressed plainly in black, with an apron; her head is covered with a shawl. Mary, who is at the window rolling up the broken blind, starts and turns to her in surprise.
MARY
Why, auntie, ye’re up airly.