Women in Love

'So cocksure!' she said. 'How can anybody ever be right, who is so

cocksure? It shows you are wrong.' He was silent in chagrin.

They had talked and struggled till they were both wearied out.

'Tell me about yourself and your people,' he said.

And she told him about the Brangwens, and about her mother, and about

Skrebensky, her first love, and about her later experiences. He sat

very still, watching her as she talked. And he seemed to listen with

reverence. Her face was beautiful and full of baffled light as she told

him all the things that had hurt her or perplexed her so deeply. He

seemed to warm and comfort his soul at the beautiful light of her

nature.

'If she REALLY could pledge herself,' he thought to himself, with

passionate insistence but hardly any hope. Yet a curious little

irresponsible laughter appeared in his heart.

'We have all suffered so much,' he mocked, ironically.

She looked up at him, and a flash of wild gaiety went over her face, a

strange flash of yellow light coming from her eyes.

'Haven't we!' she cried, in a high, reckless cry. 'It is almost absurd,

isn't it?' 'Quite absurd,' he said. 'Suffering bores me, any more.' 'So it does me.' He was almost afraid of the mocking recklessness of her splendid face.

Here was one who would go to the whole lengths of heaven or hell,

whichever she had to go. And he mistrusted her, he was afraid of a

woman capable of such abandon, such dangerous thoroughness of

destructivity. Yet he chuckled within himself also.

She came over to him and put her hand on his shoulder, looking down at

him with strange golden-lighted eyes, very tender, but with a curious

devilish look lurking underneath.

'Say you love me, say "my love" to me,' she pleaded He looked back into her eyes, and saw. His face flickered with sardonic

comprehension.

'I love you right enough,' he said, grimly. 'But I want it to be

something else.' 'But why? But why?' she insisted, bending her wonderful luminous face

to him. 'Why isn't it enough?' 'Because we can go one better,' he said, putting his arms round her.

'No, we can't,' she said, in a strong, voluptuous voice of yielding.

'We can only love each other. Say "my love" to me, say it, say it.' She put her arms round his neck. He enfolded her, and kissed her

subtly, murmuring in a subtle voice of love, and irony, and submission: 'Yes,--my love, yes,--my love. Let love be enough then. I love you

then--I love you. I'm bored by the rest.' 'Yes,' she murmured, nestling very sweet and close to him.