Kate Glenn and Lilly

Kate Glenn and Lilly’s relationship is defined in the surviving evidence by a single charged encounter after George’s death: Lilly offers an apology, and Kate answers with anger rather than reconciliation. The exchange makes their conflict unmistakable while leaving its full history and cause unstated.

Before the Confrontation

Earlier, Kate discusses George’s will with a black-clad man. She says she does not know whether everything belongs to her, does not want the inheritance, and hopes George has not left anything to another woman. Kate does not name that woman, so the conversation cannot establish that she means Lilly; it does, however, show that questions about George’s estate and another woman already trouble her before the later meeting.

Lilly’s Visit

After George’s death, people visit Kate in small groups throughout the day to express sympathy. Kate says little, answering yes or no as she cries into a large piece of cloth. Very late that evening, Lilly knocks at the door and whispers that she only wanted to say she is sorry. Kate stops crying, challenges Lilly’s right to come, and says that at least Lilly did not have George. She then slams the door in Lilly’s face.

An Unresolved Grievance

The scene gives no account of what Lilly is apologizing for, nor does it clarify what Kate means by saying that Lilly did not have George. Her words are pointed, but the evidence does not settle the history behind them or establish whether their dispute concerns George, the will, or some other matter. Lilly’s apology and Kate’s refusal make the breach visible without resolving it.

The Scene’s Presentation

Miss Maple recounts the encounter to the flock after listening from a gorse bush. Kate’s abrupt shift from crying to anger, followed by the slammed door, is summarized as resembling an angry cat. The sheep compare the episode with the bewildering, bad-tempered heroines in George’s romance books; their response reveals how they interpret human conflict through stories, even as they soon turn back to their other worries.