they understood your arguments , trust me , he said , but their families still come first at christmas . as she talked she had a habit of removing this , staring intently at the mixture of lipstick and saliva on its mangled end , and then replacing it more firmly than before . sensitive was not the word to use right now . he flicked the reins , and his horse charged forward . we had them as pets at home for lots of years . suddenly somebody came up from behind and linked arms with her . 