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.