"I never thought I'd say this, but..."

"I never thought I'd say this but his Lordship was acting quite human today, all chatty and smiling and bursting with goodwill... Never saw him like this before, he really felt like a totally different person.." Mellors drops down on the armchair with a satisfied sigh and smiles as a large striped cat immediately jumps in his lap and makes himself comfortable.

"Maybe he had a shot of that fine whisky he keeps in his cellars. Or maybe he found my secret stash of dope..." Walker chuckles, sitting on the armrest to comb back the gamekeeper's tousled hair and massage his neck. "I don't really care about how he got in a state of bliss, what matters to me is that for once he seems to have treated you decently."

"That he did and I have to say I'm grateful that for once I've been able to go through a report without having to hear him ranting and criticizing. If only he were like that all the time..."