Olive was reading a book about the future, when babies would be bred in bottles, and women would be “immunised.”

“Jolly good thing too!” she said. “Then a woman can live her own life.” Strangeways wanted children, and she didn’t.

“How’d you like to be immunised?” Winterslow asked her, with an ugly smile.

“I hope I am; naturally,” she said. “Anyhow the future’s going to have more sense, and a woman needn’t be dragged down by her functions .”

“Perhaps she’ll float off into space altogether,” said Dukes.