Thereafter she began to think of Alf. He had taken her out several
times--not as many times as Emmy imagined, because Emmy had thought
about these excursions a great deal and not only magnified but
multiplied them. Nevertheless, Alf had taken Jenny out several times. To
a music hall once or twice; to the pictures, where they had sat and
thrilled in cushioned darkness while acrobatic humans and grey-faced
tragic creatures jerked and darted at top speed in and out of the most
amazingly telescoped accidents and difficulties. And Alf had paid more
than once, for all Pa said. It is true that Jenny had paid on her
birthday for both of them; and that she had occasionally paid for
herself upon an impulse of sheer independence. But there had been other
times when Alf had really paid for both of them. He had been very decent
about it. He had not tried any nonsense, because he was not a
flirtatious fellow. Well, it had been very nice; and now it was all
spoilt. It was spoilt because of Emmy. Emmy had spoilt it by wanting Alf
for herself. Ugh! thought Jenny. Em had always been a jealous cat: if
she had just seen Alf somewhere she wouldn't have wanted him. That was
it! Em saw that Alf preferred Jenny; she saw that Jenny went out with
him. And because she always wanted to do what Jenny did, and always
wanted what Jenny had got, Em wanted to be taken out by Alf. Jenny, with
the cruel unerringness of an exasperated woman, was piercing to Emmy's
heart with fierce lambent flashes of insight. And if Alf had taken Em
once or twice, and Jenny once or twice, not wanting either one or the
other, or not wanting one of them more than the other, Em would have
been satisfied. It would have gone no further. It would still have been
sensible, without nonsense. But it wouldn't do for Em. So long as Jenny
was going out Emmy stayed at home. She had said to herself: "Why should
Jenny go, and not me ... having all this pleasure?" That had been the
first stage--Jenny worked it all out. First of all, it had been envy of
Jenny's going out. Then had come stage number two: "Why should Alf