He bent down and kissed her soft flank, rubbed his cheek against it, then covered it up.

“And will you never leave me?” she said.

“Dunna ask them things,” he said.

“But you do believe I love you?” she said.

“Tha loved me just now, wider than iver tha thout tha would. But who knows what’ll ’appen, once tha starts thinkin’ about it!”

“No, don’t say those things!⁠—And you don’t really think that I wanted to make use of you, do you?”

“How?”

“To have a child⁠—?”

“Now anybody can ’ave any childt i’ th’world,” he said, as he sat down fastening on his leggings.

“Ah no!” she cried. “You don’t mean it?”