The Fancy Read Free Page A

his childishness, he still toyed occasionally with the fancy. He twitched his high-boned prominent nose at a large buck rabbit who twitched back at him, chewing sideways and staring out of hazel eyes. Sometimes in the evening when he was feeling particularly happy, Edward might have gone down on all fours to kick and whiffle and pretend bewas a rabbit, but for the fear that Connie would look out of the window and think he had gone mad.
    “Wonder if she has her fancies,” he said to the buck. “When she’s alone, does she pretend to be somebody else? I wonder if everybody does. Perhaps we should all think we were mad if we could see each other when we were alone. But then of course, we shouldn’t be alone, should we?” He laughed and went on down the hutches. He had a long session with Queenie. Incredible to think of what was going on inside her.
    He lifted the roof of the hutch and put in his hand to see if he could feel anything. “Quickening” he believed the expression was. He had once heard Dorothy and Mrs. Munroe and Connie talking about it in hissing whispers upstairs. Queenie immediately pressed herself into a corner of the cage.
    “All right, my dear,” said Edward, shutting up the hutch, “I wouldn’t hurt you for the world. Couche-toi, couche-toi.” He often spoke bits of French to the rabbits, as they were Belgian. Connie had caught him once saying “Comment ça va?” to an ailing buck. Well, perhaps he was mad. He’d be talking to himself next like the old girl who zig-zagged down Church Avenue in a thick black veil and a purple cloak.
    He gave all the rabbits a spoonful of potato. Yes, he would definitely get that doe in kindle. Have to think announcementI s. about getting some new hutches too. He was only in a small way now, but one day he was going to do big things. He might even become well known, like Allan Colley. It was almost dark by the time he was at the last hutch. Why should the little grey doe in there make him think suddenly of the factory and his new job tomorrow? He peered in at her, dealing delicately with her potato. How odd ; she reminded him of the little fair girl he had noticed when the foreman was pointing out the bench he would be in charge of tomorrow. He hadn’t noticed much about the girls, perching in their grey overalls round the tableful of metal, except that there seemed a terrifying lot of them. Time enough to take stock of them tomorrow, when he had to meet them. He had deliberately been trying not to think about tomorrow in case he should start thinking up unnatural, jocular remarks. Dinah would be nice to him, though ; he knew her. He had seen her this afternoon looking tousled, and he had seen this other girl. It was tea-time and she was taking little nibbles out of an enormous bun, just like the little grey doe was doing with the potato.
    The kitchen doorway suddenly flung an oblong of light on to the garden. “Edward!” called Connie. “It’s black-out time. Are you coming in to do it? I’ve half killed myself trying to get the shutter up in here.”
    “You shouldn’t try, dear,” said Edward, going indoors, “You know I always do it.”
    “The doctor’s dared me to lift weights,” said Connie, while Edward fitted the wooden shutter into the glass of the door, still happy from his rabbits.
    Connie had her back to him, bending over the sink to fill the kettle. She was wearing a blue skirt and a belted tunic blouse that made her waist look quite small. Edward was suddenly moved to put his arms round her from behind and squeeze her. He turned her round and kissed her, while she held the kettle awkwardly between them.
    “Ted, for Heaven’s sake—you’re getting me all wet. What’s the matter with you? Let me go, I want to turn the tap off. Oh
don
’
t
, Ted, you’re horrible.”
    “Connie,” began Edward, and she saw what was coming and slid her eyes away. “Now Ted, you know what the doctor said after my illness.”
    “But Connie, that was