Hazel followed. But Reddin stepped in front of her.

'Look here, Hazel! You say you don't like hurting things. You're
hurting me!'

Looking at his haggard face, she knew it was true.

She wiped her tears away with her sleeve.

'It inna my fault. I'm allus hurting things. I canna set foot in the
garden nor cook a cabbage but I kill a lot of little pretty flies and
things. And when we take honey there's allus bees hurted. I'm bound to
go agen you or Ed'ard, and I canna go agen Ed'ard; he sets store by me,
does Ed'ard. You should 'a seen the primmyroses he put in my room last
night; I slep' at the parsonage along of us being late.'

Reddin frowned as if in physical pain.

'And he bought me stockings, all thin, and a sky-blue petticoat.'

Reddin looked round. He would have picked her up then and there and
taken her to Undern, but the road was full of people.

'I couldna go agen Ed'ard! He'm that kind. Foxy likes him, too; she'd
ne'er growl at 'im.'

'Perhaps,' Reddin said hoarsely, 'Foxy'd like me if I gave her bones.'

'She wouldna! You'm got blood on you.'