The afternoon he told her was a long afternoon. They sat in the parlour. The fire was not lit. The book was on the mantelpiece. The clock, in the hall, said three. The light through the window was the colour of late afternoon. The door, behind the books, was closed. The letter, in the drawer, was waiting. The third cup, in the kitchen, was cold. They sat in the parlour, and the afternoon was a long afternoon, and the afternoon was the afternoon he had been afraid of. She said: *I would like to...