‘Here he comes,’ she murmured, and they could hear that her lips were dry with emotion. ‘And I have to put my arms round his neck and look into his face as Marian did.’
‘There’s nothing in that,’ said Tess quickly.
‘There’s a time for everything,’ continued Izz, unheeding. ‘A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; the first is now going to be mine.’
‘Fie—it is Scripture, Izz!’
‘Yes?’ said Izz, ‘I’ve always a’ ear at church for pretty verses.’
Angel Clare, to whom three-quarters of this performance was a commonplace act of kindness, now approached Izz. She quietly and dreamily lowered herself into his arms, and Angel methodically marched off with her. When he was heard returning for the third time Retty’s throbbing heart could be almost seen to shake her. He went up to the red-haired girl, and while he was seizing her he glanced at Tess. His lips could not have pronounced more plainly, ‘It will soon be you and I.’ Her comprehension appeared in her face; she could not help it. There was an understanding between them.
25
