FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143  
144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   >>   >|  
ne. 'Rupert, you are coming to Shortlands to dinner? Will you come at once, will you come now, with us?' 'I'm not dressed,' replied Birkin. 'And you know Gerald stickles for convention.' 'I don't stickle for it,' said Gerald. 'But if you'd got as sick as I have of rowdy go-as-you-please in the house, you'd prefer it if people were peaceful and conventional, at least at meals.' 'All right,' said Birkin. 'But can't we wait for you while you dress?' persisted Hermione. 'If you like.' He rose to go indoors. Ursula said she would take her leave. 'Only,' she said, turning to Gerald, 'I must say that, however man is lord of the beast and the fowl, I still don't think he has any right to violate the feelings of the inferior creation. I still think it would have been much more sensible and nice of you if you'd trotted back up the road while the train went by, and been considerate.' 'I see,' said Gerald, smiling, but somewhat annoyed. 'I must remember another time.' 'They all think I'm an interfering female,' thought Ursula to herself, as she went away. But she was in arms against them. She ran home plunged in thought. She had been very much moved by Hermione, she had really come into contact with her, so that there was a sort of league between the two women. And yet she could not bear her. But she put the thought away. 'She's really good,' she said to herself. 'She really wants what is right.' And she tried to feel at one with Hermione, and to shut off from Birkin. She was strictly hostile to him. But she was held to him by some bond, some deep principle. This at once irritated her and saved her. Only now and again, violent little shudders would come over her, out of her subconsciousness, and she knew it was the fact that she had stated her challenge to Birkin, and he had, consciously or unconsciously, accepted. It was a fight to the death between them--or to new life: though in what the conflict lay, no one could say. CHAPTER XIII. MINO The days went by, and she received no sign. Was he going to ignore her, was he going to take no further notice of her secret? A dreary weight of anxiety and acrid bitterness settled on her. And yet Ursula knew she was only deceiving herself, and that he would proceed. She said no word to anybody. Then, sure enough, there came a note from him, asking if she would come to tea with Gudrun, to his rooms in town. 'Why does he ask Gudrun as well?' she aske
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143  
144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Gerald
 

Birkin

 

Ursula

 
thought
 

Hermione

 

Gudrun

 

principle

 

subconsciousness

 

shudders

 

violent


irritated

 
strictly
 

hostile

 
anxiety
 
weight
 

bitterness

 

CHAPTER

 

settled

 

dreary

 

notice


ignore

 

received

 

secret

 

unconsciously

 

accepted

 
consciously
 

challenge

 

stated

 

deceiving

 

conflict


proceed

 

peaceful

 
conventional
 

persisted

 

turning

 

indoors

 

people

 

prefer

 

dinner

 

Shortlands


coming
 
Rupert
 

dressed

 

replied

 

stickle

 
stickles
 

convention

 
female
 
interfering
 

plunged