32 Stress, rhythm and weak forms

items returned to her. The next day Jane went back to the flat and was alarmed to
discover the place completely empty. With time she realized that the man she had
Lesson 4
trusted was a fraud and vowed that she would have justice served upon him. For
weeks she walked the streets of London looking for Lord Charles. Then, one day
she saw him. She approached him directly and demanded that he return what was
hers. Taken aback, the man blundered, claiming that he didn't know who the
woman was, he continued to make his way down the street. Jane followed him
until she saw a policeman. Then she insisted that the man be arrested for the theft
of her jewellery.
Exercise 3.10 Transcribe the following passage, including all we have seen so far, with
special attention to weak forms.
The man who was arrested was known as Harold Fox and it was assumed that the
name Lord Charles had been an alias to hide his true identity. An announcement
was made in the newspapers and 15 women came forward to admit that they too
had been victims of such a crime. It appeared that Mr Fox had used a selection
of names and that all of his characters had similar histories. Despite Mr Fox's ada-
mant denial of the offence, an identity parade was arranged and eight of the victims English accents may be classified into two different groups depending 0\1 where the
positively identified him as the person who had tricked them out of their possessions. sound Irl is allowed to occur. These two accent groups are known as 'rho tic' and
Throughout the whole trial, Mr Fox maintained his innocence, claiming that he was 'non-rhotic' accents. RP English is a non-rho tic accent. In rho tic accents, for instance
able to prove that he was not the person who had committed those crimes, regardless General American and Irish English and Scottish English, Ir! is pronounced whenever
of which, he was found guilty on several counts of dishonesty. Distraught and in it appears in the spelling. On the other hand, in many British accents including RP and
disbelief, Mr Fox was taken to the cells where he continued to claim that there in Australian English, the sound Irl is only pronounced when it is followed by a vowel
was a miscarriage of justice and that his innocence could be proven. He wrote to sound. Accordingly, Irl is not pronounced in bar, bars or in bare, bared because Irl is
the Home Office, the prison governor and the chief of police for the entire 14 followed by a consonant or by a pause but it is pronounced in barring, baring because
years of his sentence but to no avail. Eventually, he was released from gaol and Irl is followed by vowel sound.
re-entered the world, an older and much weaker man. Nevertheless, he persevered When the spelling of a word ends in r or re, the IrI is usually pronounced if the next
in his mission to clear his name and made every effort to contact the authorities. word begins with a vowel sound, although it is not wrong to leave it out:
Again no one listened. Several months after his release from prison, he was
bar and pub Iba:r end pAbl or Iba: end pAbl
approached by a young woman he had never seen before. She began accusing him
bare it Ibeer It I or Ibea Itl
of having taken her jewellery. He was arrested immediately and this time he was
sentenced to 20 years. As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months If the orthographic r is in the middle of a word and is followed by a vowel, IrI must be
Mr Fox gradually gave up his fight and began to accept that it was God's wili pronounced:
that he should suffer for what he hadn't done. Then, out of the blue, it was reported
in a newspaper that a man had been arrested for stealing jewellery from young
women. This man had admitted to assuming the name of Lord Charles and The pronunciation of word-final orthographic r or re when followed by a vowel in
others, thus proving that Mr Fox had been innocent all the time. Research into the next morpheme or word is known as linking r.
the case shortly after showed that Mr Fox had been in Peru at the time of the Note that in non-rhotic accents, not all vowels can be followed by Ir/. In RP English
original offences and could not, by any stretch of the imagination, have been respon- the high vowels or the diphthongs ending in one of these vowels li:/, /II, Iii, lu:/, lu/, lu/,
sible for the crimes he had been punished for. Mr Fox received some compensation are never followed by Ir/.
for the miscarriage of justice, but perhaps more importantly, a court of appeal was By analogy with linking r, some speakers pronounce Irl after certain vowels when the
established in Great Britain for the first time. next word begins with a vowel, even though there is no 'r' in the spelling. For example:
draw it Idr:>:r Itl
This non-orthographic pronunciation of Irl is known as intrusive r. It must be borne
in mind that intrusive r is an analogical process and therefore only found after those
vowels which can be followed by an orthographically motivated Ir/, that is, linking r.
. . ~
So intrusive r is not possible after high vowels, since, as we saw above, linking r is not
found in that position either.
Intrusive r is acceptable between words, but is sometimes frowned upon when it 1. Sandhi r is not possible because it cannot follow a high vowel.
occurs within words, as in 2. Notice the intrusive r.
3. The strong form is used because here the verb is not an auxiliary.
drawing Idro:nT]1
4. The strong form is used because the grammatical word is stranded.
It must be noted, however, that many speakers of present day RP pronounce Irl in 5. Sandhi r is not used when the two vowels are separated by a potential pause.
this sort of word. 6. used is pronounced Iju:zdl when it means employed or utilised but Iju:stl when it
Linking r and intrusive r are known jointly as sandhi r (sandhi is a Sanskrit word means accustomed.
meaning putting together). Finally, it must be noted that what has been said about 7. Smoothing (see Lesson 2).
sandhi r only applies to non-rhotic English accents. Rhotic accents, on the other 8. Strong form because it is a negative contraction.
hand, pronounce Irl following the spelling so that there is no occasion to consider it 9. The strong form is used because the grammatical word is emphasised and therefore
a linking phenomenon. stressed.
Here is a transcribed passage in which you can find many instances of sandhi r which
Exercise 4.1 Look at the following passage which is given in orthography. Try to
have been highlighted. Remember that each superscript number refers to a comment
identify all the occasions where sandhi r could be used. Check your version at the
on the following page. The orthographic version for this passage is in the answers
end of the book; where you can also find this text transcribed with comments.
section at the end of the book.
My exams are over and I have some breathing space now for a few months, before I
have to start thinking about revising again. I was very insecure about my ability to
study again when the course began. I felt as though my brain had been atrophied for
all those years since I left college. And to make the matter even worse, most of the
I ar 'neva:~ r'meed3rnd 5at ar wud 'mu:v a'wer fram 5a ,tarni Irtal'vrlrd3 wea~ ar students in my class were much younger than me. However, I'm happy to report that
gru:1 'I\P I ta 'setal 'daun rn sl\tf a 'brg 'srtil az *'ll\ndan 1Its 'aunli 'nau 5at arl I did very well, so now I'm more at ease and can relax and really enjoy the lessons.
I\nda'steend war mal .feemali wanotsau.ki:non5ilaI.dlai2avas.li:v.II] I'naul My class is made up of a very diverse group of people, coming from a variety of
3
aI heev 'tu: jl\l] 'krdz 1 *'lrnda~2 and *'po:1 I and a 'hl\zband ta 'keal abaut I ar countries, cultures, religions and economic backgrounds. It is interesting to~iscover
'nalalz 5a drsad'va:ntad3rz a 'tfaIld 'heez3 rn a 'srti l'lukrl] 'beek ta 5a 'derz wen all the various reasons that brought all these students to this particular area of the
ar waz a 'smo:1 'g3:1 I ar ri'membafi abl\v '0:1 I haul rndi'pendant wil '0:1 'W3:4~5 world and I have learnt a lot more in this place than a new language by listening to
I an 'hau mAtf 'fri:dam wi 'heed3 I wi 'ju:st6 ta gau ta 'sku:1 on aa7g 'aun I rard their sometimes harrowing stories. Many of them are refugees and were faced with
'barsrkalz I pier 'hald and 'si:k rn 5a 'pa:k I 'hopskotf rn 5a 'stri:t 1 'SWIm rn 5a the dilemma of leaving it all behind or risking prison or worse. It is once more
's~ri:m I ~n 'raI.d, on 5a 'swrl] J wltf wi 'ju:st6 ta 'merk fram a 'trill rn 5a 'wudz I evident to me how easily things come to a western European and how very much
WI wud Irtarell pier 'aaz I heevrl] 'grert 'fl\n I rt wud bil 'o:lmaust 'da:k we take for granted things like fair law and justice. Over a few months all of us in
brfo:~ ar got 'haum I jet ar 'neva SO:~2'ar5a mar 'ml\5a~ 0: mar 'fa:5a kan's3:nd the class have become a close-knit group, since we share a common problem that
abaut It I srns 5er 'nju: wi wa~ '0:1 'self I and wi wud 'kl\m haum 'wen wi felt crosses all barriers. We are all struggling to understand the same new culture and
'hl\l]grjl-5 I ar wud 'lark 'mar 'tflldren ta heev3 'plenti1 av 'fl\n 'tu: 1~5 I and settle into the same new country. And everyone has funny things to relate about
'du: 1-3 'autdo:~ eek'trvrtiz I bat ItS rm'posrbal fail a 'tfarld 'hra~ rn 5a 'srti I ta the lack of progress we sometimes find. There is no one who understands better
'heev3 5a 'karnd av 'fri:da~ 'arl and30rd I 5.er 's3:tanli 'keenot gaul 'aut on 5ea~ about the difficulties we face than a fellow foreigner in the same boat. It do~sn't
'aun I'ka:z al a 'dernd3al arm 'veril a'wea~ ov4 I 'not ta 'menfan 'mautabarks I matter if they come from the other end of the world. We are all far away from
5a 'rl\f aa7~ rz pa'trkjulali 'beed I wr5 'evri wl\n 'spi:drl] arid 'drarvrl] lark 'mernieeks home and missing those we left behind, so we console, cajole and encourage each
1'5en 5al rz 5a 'vaalans 71 ItS 'not i:van 'serf fa~ an 'eedl\lt ta 'wo: k araund I wr5aut other along frequently.
5a 'fral av getrl) 'ml\gd o:i a'so:ltrd l'eniwerl-5 I ar 'trar ta terk mar 'sl\n and 'do:ta~ Exercise 4.2 Now we ask you to look at the following transcription and insert all the
aut ta 'pleI az 'ml\tJ az ar 'keen4 I on 'sl\mal'i:vnrl]z wi 'gau ta 5a 'pa:k 1an terk
possible instances of sandhi r that you can find. You will find an edited version with
'prknrks wr5 as I 5a~ rz an ad'ventfa~ 'earral2 rn 5a 'pa:k I weaR a 'lot aV,'tfrldrat"! explanations and comments as well as the orthQgraphic version at the end of the book.
get ta'ge5a~ an 'pier I bat 5er 'daunt8 heev3 5iJ opa'tlu:mtil av 'du:rl] 'veri 'meni
'8rl]z on 5eal'aun 1no:i av 'rl\ml] a'raund I 0: 'sarklrl) o:I'auva 5a 'piers az 'wi:9 I *'ema and ha 'jl\l]ga 'srsta *'een8ra a 'kl\mrl] ta 'ster I mar 'brl\5a and rz 'warf a
drd 1 'sl\mtarmz ar 'wl\nda we5a~ 'a:ftafi '0:11 ar 'fud av mu:vd a'werl-5 I ar 'gaurl] a'wer fa a '101]wi:k'end on 5ea 'aun I sau 5ea 'do:taz wrl bi 'left wr5 'I\S I
d3ast 'haup 5a 'krdz daunt8 'fi:1 5er' a~ 'eektJuali mrsrl] 'aut I 'merbil-5 I az 5er av 'ko:s I ar av 'naun 5rs fa a 'waIl I and av 'gon abaut mar 'derli 'brznrs wr5 mar
'5el \ ju 'daunt8 'mlS \ wot ju1 av Inevai Ik'spmnanst I ' 'jU:3ual'tIIari 'ffitItju:d I It IZ 'aunli In 58 '10:5t fju: 'derz I'nau 5at 5ea a'rarval rz
 '::l:lmaust a'pon as I oat aI av 'nautrst 'klIa mdr'kerSanz av 'stres m mi I maI last Wednesday he got a break. The day before he had bumped into Anna in the pub.
'hcendz Serk 'slartli fram 'tarm ta 'tarm , and mar '8rauawer ri'mo:ks abaut She had recently inherited a house off the west coast - well, rather an old cottage,
hau 'go:stli rt wrl ::l:1'bi: I hav bi'gAn ta si:m 'kAlad wro oa 'tamiast 'tAtS av she said. She'd thought about selling it. However, her agent said it wouldn't fetch
'hrstIarJa an 'saund a IItal 'stremd I ar 'daunt wont ju ta 'get mi 'rol) I ar 'IAv a good price because of its remote location. Besides, it would be a nice place for
5am bau8 'dIali I 'terkan mdr'vrd3ali mar 'ni:sIZ a a'fekSanat I 'mtarestII) an Anna to spend the summer at. In the winter it could be rented out, but she had to
di'lartfa! / oa 'trAbal 'IZ I 5eI a 'not 'kAmrl] mdI'vld3eli I 5eI e ta bi 'wI5 as find some time to travel out there and sort it out. There were a couple of things
ta'ge08 ~nd fa at 'Ii:st 'f::!: haul 'derz I *'cen8ra IZ not 'eunli *'emaz jl\1]9a that had to be done to it before any decisions were taken - a coat of paint,
ISIste I JI IZ 1::l:lsau ha 'enami I and 5a 'fi:lIl] IZ 'mju:tSual I 'hau 'tu: SAtS'wel maybe a window shutter in need of adjusting, and a few tiles here and there
bra:t Ap 'tSIldran kan 'mcenrd3 ta gau on 'faItII) i:tS 'A5a m SAtSa kan'sIstant ought to be replaced. Apart from that, there was nothing the matter, Anna said.
'mcena I IZ 'ha:d tu Ik'splem I 5ea cenr'mosatr dId 'not 'grau auva 'eni8II) m Hewas really taken with the idea of it and even hinted that he enjoyed working
pa'tIkjula aI maIt 'ced I It waz '5ea fram oa bi'gInIl)I oa 'del *'ema waz with his hands. Anna rang the following morning, She had been thinking about
mtre'dju:st ta ha 'nju:b::l:n 'sIblI1) I waz WAn av 'ommas fa'baudII) I *'ema at the house and, his enthusiasm over it. Would he be interested in moving in rent-
5a 'talm waz 'aunli 'tu: I Si waz 'bra:t rn ta 'si: oa 'belbi I and a:fta a 'kWlk free? In exchange he would just have to fix up whatever he thought necessary. He
'Iuk at 5a 'tarni 'bAndal1 Si'sna:tld 'Iaudli /'t3:nd on ha 'hi:1 and 'left I Ii ri'fju:zd could stay until the summer if he wanted to. Anna of course would pay for all the
ta 't:l:k tu 'enibodi fa 8 'nAmba av 'delz I and It waz 'ma a 'mAn8 I bib: 'eniwAn materials that were used. She had hardly finished speaking when he accepted.
kud pa'sweld a ta 'spi:k ta ha 'mA5a a'gen I 5i aI'dle av 'traul) tu enta'tem 5i:z What a wonderful idea it was! And it was perfect timing too. He really wanted to
'tu: IItal 'g3:lz I fa 'eni8rl) 'auva an 'oa ~z 'fIlII) mi WIo 'pcemk I aI av 'traId ta get out there and enjoy the lack of distractions other than nature and healthy
pri'pea az 'mAtI az aI 'kcen I aI av 'b::l:t 5a 'd3eli I abaut 'ten 'pcekltS av It , m work. He was now standing in the kitchen of the house ~ fair enough, she had
'evri 'flelva aI kud 'famd I aI 'nau oat wot'eva IZ *'emaz 'flelva av 5a 'mAn8 I said cottage -c and feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. When he first
*'cen8Ia IZ 'baund ta 'helt rt I 5a 'Io:st tarm 5er 'kelm ta 'vlzrt /' aI merd saw it, it hadn't looked too bad - a few slates missing from the roof, and only
'orrnd3 'd3e!i I *'ema a'd:l:d It I *'cen8ra tuk 'WAn sm:l:! 'spu:nfulI 'skru:d Ap one shutter in its right place, nothing major it seemed ~but when he walked in,
ha LFeIsand 'sed 5at It 'terstrd 'no:sti I a1 WII 'traI 'terkrl) oam fa a 'w::l:k ta he started realising what he had let himself in for. This was surely not a matter of
'fi:d 5a 'dAks on 5a 'vllrd3 'pond I bat arm 'I::l: rt wrl bi oa 'best ar'dIa rn 5a fixing, but of gutting out and building from scratch. None of the lights worked.
'w3:ld fa 'WAnav oam I and oi '1\5a WAnwrl 'strk aut ha 'Iaua 'lIp' 'stcemp ha How could they when the electricity didn't either? The fuse box was burnt to a
'futand 'seI 5at Ii 'herts sri; 'dAks I ar 'wAnda rf rt wrJ bi oi 'eldast hu wII cinder and nothing short of new wiring would solve that. Turning on a tap made
'flcetl'1 rI"f'JU:z t a h cev 'b :lrId' eg f a 'b re kfast I ::l: gau fa a 'sarka I 'raId I :l: 'i:van
I
the pipes rattle as if they were about to take off, but no water actually came out.
wotI a 'vrdiau at 'haum I 'hau kan 'tu: 'tIrldren av 'b: and 'sIks , 'mcemd3 ta The ceiling beams had been eaten by an army of termites. All floorboards creaked
'sAman 5; 'enad3i ta dIsa'gri: on 'cebsalu:tli 'evri8rl) I ar 'sAmtarmz sa'spekt when stepped on and several showed their true nature and broke under his probing
5at 5eI 'kAm ta 'si:krat a'gri:mants wen 'neuwAn rz 'prezant I az ta 'WItS'sard foot. He had a funny feeling that the house meant to collapse and bury him forever
ev 5ee rn'evrtabal drsa'gri:mant on 'evri 'sAbd3rkt I 'i:tS wrl 'terk I 'merbi ItS under its weight.
'a:1 a 'pbr ta drarv 'cedAlts Ap 5a 'wa:! I
Exercise 4.4 Transcribe the following passage, including all we have seen so far, with
The following three passages are for you to transcribe. Pay special attention to the special attention to sandhi r.
use of sandhi r and remember the hints which we gave you in the previous lessons.
After completing each one compare it to our version at the end of the book and Freddy grew up in the city with his brother Alex and their parents, but his fondest
study the comments carefully. memories, the ones he tells of time and time again, are of their holidays in the
country. They owned a beautiful house. It's still there and now it belongs to
When you finish these transcriptions, take some time to look at your progress so far.
Freddy since he bought his brother out. Alex has lived abroad for over 30 years
If you are ~aking quite a lot of mistakes or there are things you do not understand, you
should revise these first four lessons very carefully before starting on Lesson 5'- and is not likely to come back now. The house is white with dark green windows,
a veranda and balconies. There is a porch downstairs, roofed by a vine trellis.
Exercise 4.3 Transcribe the following passage, including all we have seen so far, with The walls in the porch are covered to waist height with Moorish,looking tiles in
special attention to sandhi r. all colours. There is quite a lot of land surrounding the main building, mostly
taken up by a wild,looking garden with fruit trees, bushes and flowers. Freddy
When he heard of the offer of a house on a small island, he went for it. He had lately stays there all through the summer and early autumn and goes for an afternoon
been feeling unhappy in the big city. His work wasn't 'going anywhere at all. He sat during the rest of the year at least once a week. It's too cold to stay overnight in
in front of the computer every morning, steaming cup of coffee in his hand, He the winter, as the only available heating is that provided by the fireplace in the sitting
would stare at the blank screen, daring it to defeat him. After about an hour of room and the Aga in the kitchen. The garden slopes down towards the village, since
wrestling, he would surrender and start to wander endlessly around the flat. Then the house is conveniently situated, slightly removed from and above all the others.
 Fre?d~'s father Albert bought the house in the 1920s. He had gone to Cuba at the Exercise 4.5 Transcribe the following passage, including all we have seen so far, with
be~mnlllg of the century with his two brothers. They worked very hard like most special attention to sandhi r.
emIgrants, and, like some of them, Albert made quite a lot of money and caine
back home. to be a gentleman of leisure and found a family. Before embarking on They walked into the restaurant, but Cordelia's heart just wasn't in it, Should she
t~e latter aim: he bought the house and surrounding land and invested the rest of leave it for tonight? After all it was their anniversary. Or should she come out
hIS ~ortu.neWI~ely.After a while a young girl in the village caught his eye. He lost with it right there and then in front of a room full of people. 'Would you like a
no tIme.I~ settlllg things in mo.tion. He spoke to the village priest and was assured table next to the window, Madam, or out in the conservatory?' Her uneasy thoughts
of the gIrl s ~haracter and famlly background. After obtaining similar unimpeach- were interrupted and quite honestly she did not care in the least where they sat. She
able c~ed.entlalsfor Albert, the priest put in a good word with the girl's parents had more important things on her mind. 'Let's sit next to the window,' she replied,
and wI~h~na few months they were married. Freddy and Alex had a very strict thinking that if this did get a bit too hot to bear, she could always make a quick get-
and rehg~ous upbringing. Albert had all the time in the world to keep an eye on away through the nearest door or even across the patio. They took their allocated
the runllIng of the household and his c1).ildren.Nevertheless, the two boys were seats. George as usual pulled the chair out and made sure of her comfort, before
alw~ys known for their imaginative pranks. They were aware of the consequent he sat down himself. He got the wine menu. 'We'll have champagne,' he decided.
pU~Ishments, but they accepted the penances as the natural price that had to be It was only proper on their anniversary. Cordelia acknowledged the gesture,
paId for achieving their ends. Their mother would try to cover up as much as she although she wasn't about to fall for it. Her mind was elsewhere at the time. She
could for thel~, but sh~ never understood what it was that made them so unruly, was trying to remember exactly when she had become suspicious. There was nothing
when, ~nd t~IS was .evldent to all, they were such good and kind-hearted boys. clear at first, just that he wasn't around as much as he used to be, but he wa§a busy
One wmter. m the CIty Alex spent a few pleasurable hours throwing eggs down man, and at different times of the year his job did make demands on him. Cordelia
~rom hIS wmdow at all the passers-by who caught his fancy. He also carried a had used these excuses over and over again, hut she knew in her heart that her
lIttle notebook where he kept a record of all the street lights he had broken, or instincts were always right. It had been proved many a time, even when the dreadful
rather ston~d. Freddy was a keen guitar player and consequently his presence was Mrs Shaw announced that she had seen George, her own George, at the museum
much ~eqU1re~at all parties and gatherings, since no one owned a record-player cafeteria in the company of another woman. She had denied that there was anything
at the tIme. Belllgso popular a fellow, it was easy for him to forget parental curfews. untoward happening. It had been a previously arranged business dinner., And yes,
On o~e o,CCaSI?n he got.back aft~r eight a.m. to find his father on the porch waiting Cordelia had known all about it. Unfortunately, she too had been engaged that
for him. Don t even thlllk of gomg to bed,' Albert said, 'before all those sacks are evening and therefore unable to attend. When she got home that night, she didn't
absolutely full of potatoes:' Then he resumed his newspaper reading on the porch bring up the subject with her husband, and with time.she had managed to convince
~eat. -:r:he workmen took pIty on Freddy and helped him by sneaking a few potatoes herself that maybe what she had told Mrs Shaw was true. His absences became more
llltO hl.ssacks when Albert wasn't looking. Still, he was digging in the garden until and more frequent. He started going away for a long weekend every now and then,
lunc.htIme.All.through the summers both brothers would often get the local cabby and after a while every third week, claiming that he had a weekend conference. It
to gIve them rIdes to the various parties in surrounding villages. Since they didn't was such a bore, he claimed. How he would have just loved to stay at home and
have any money, their account with the driver ended up at such a high figure they spend the time with her instead, but the mortgage needed to be paid and money
were forc~d to go to Aunt Sally for funds. She was their father's sister and one of had to be earned. When he came back, he was distracted. A difficult meeting, he
the most mnocent, kindest persons you would ever encounter in this world. She said. It had brought up much to think about. Cordelia always showed sympathy,
was unmarried and lived on her own at the other end of the village. Freddy and' but she knew when he was lying and 'was insulted that he thought he could pull
Alex.would ~lways turn to her in a scrape. Quite a number of times they returned the wool over her eyes. Had he learnt nothing about her in all their years together
lookmg hornbly scruffy after a particularly fun outing. Going home in such a under the same roof? In her isolation and loneliness she had begun to look into
state would have been looking for unnecessary trouble, so they would pop into herself for a solution, for a reason why George no longer loved her. She found no
Sally's ~ouse first, spin her an incredible yarn, and get a full meal whilst their clothes answer inside. Her intuition told her it was an outside cause. In the course of this
were beI~g cl~ane~ and ironed. Then they would go home looking as neat as two inner appraisal Cordelia admitted the fact that whatever unconscious mistakes
pms. It IS ummagmable what the two of them would have got into had Albert she might have made, she deserved better as a human being and would have to go
been a father of a less strict kind. And yet, without so many rules to be broken after it. She would tell him tonight. He had to choose. It was her or the other
an~ a less formidable opponent, they might have thought it wasn't worth their one. His deceit would not be tolerated from now on. It had to end. Quite
whIle. Probably for them half the fun was besting Albert. . honestly, she didn't mind what his decision was, not any longer actually. What a
surprising and comforting thought! I don't care any more.