Women in Love

She handed him the lanterns, whilst she went to fix the cane at the end

of the canoe. He followed after her, and stood with the lanterns

dangling against his white-flannelled thighs, emphasising the shadow

around.

'Kiss me before we go,' came his voice softly from out of the shadow

above.

She stopped her work in real, momentary astonishment.

'But why?' she exclaimed, in pure surprise.

'Why?' he echoed, ironically.

And she looked at him fixedly for some moments. Then she leaned forward

and kissed him, with a slow, luxurious kiss, lingering on the mouth.

And then she took the lanterns from him, while he stood swooning with

the perfect fire that burned in all his joints.

They lifted the canoe into the water, Gudrun took her place, and Gerald

pushed off.

'Are you sure you don't hurt your hand, doing that?' she asked,

solicitous. 'Because I could have done it PERFECTLY.' 'I don't hurt myself,' he said in a low, soft voice, that caressed her

with inexpressible beauty.

And she watched him as he sat near her, very near to her, in the stern

of the canoe, his legs coming towards hers, his feet touching hers. And

she paddled softly, lingeringly, longing for him to say something

meaningful to her. But he remained silent.

'You like this, do you?' she said, in a gentle, solicitous voice.

He laughed shortly.

'There is a space between us,' he said, in the same low, unconscious

voice, as if something were speaking out of him. And she was as if

magically aware of their being balanced in separation, in the boat. She

swooned with acute comprehension and pleasure.

'But I'm very near,' she said caressively, gaily.

'Yet distant, distant,' he said.

Again she was silent with pleasure, before she answered, speaking with

a reedy, thrilled voice: 'Yet we cannot very well change, whilst we are on the water.' She

caressed him subtly and strangely, having him completely at her mercy.

A dozen or more boats on the lake swung their rosy and moon-like

lanterns low on the water, that reflected as from a fire. In the

distance, the steamer twanged and thrummed and washed with her

faintly-splashing paddles, trailing her strings of coloured lights, and

occasionally lighting up the whole scene luridly with an effusion of

fireworks, Roman candles and sheafs of stars and other simple effects,

illuminating the surface of the water, and showing the boats creeping

round, low down. Then the lovely darkness fell again, the lanterns and

the little threaded lights glimmered softly, there was a muffled

knocking of oars and a waving of music.