yet the room seemed curiously silent, thanks to the absence of a
telescreen.
Folly, folly, folly! he thought again. It was inconceivable that they
could frequent this place for more than a few weeks without being caught.
But the temptation of having a hiding-place that was truly their own,
indoors and near at hand, had been too much for both of them. For some time
after their visit to the church belfry it had been impossible to arrange
meetings. Working hours had been drastically increased in anticipation of
Hate Week. It was more than a month distant, but the enormous, complex
preparations that it entailed were throwing extra work on to everybody.
Finally both of them managed to secure a free afternoon on the same day.
They had agreed to go back to the clearing in the wood. On the evening
beforehand they met briefly in the street. As usual, Winston hardly looked
at Julia as they drifted towards one another in the crowd, but from the
short glance he gave her it seemed to him that she was paler than usual.
'It's all off,' she murmured as soon as she judged it safe to speak.
'Tomorrow, I mean.'
'What?'
'Tomorrow afternoon. I can't come.'
'Why not?'
'Oh, the usual reason. It's started early this time.'
For a moment he was violently angry. During the month that he had
known her the nature of his desire for her had changed. At the beginning
there had been little true sensuality in it. Their first love-making h
.
|
