How really beautifully this room is done,” she said aloud. “This hard plaited matting—what a lovely colour it is, the colour of cool light!”

And it seemed to her perfect.

“Ursula,” she said at length, in a voice of question and detachment, “did you know that Gerald Crich had suggested our going away all together at Christmas?”

“Yes, he’s spoken to Rupert.”

A deep flush dyed Gudrun’s cheek. She was silent a moment, as if taken aback, and not knowing what to say.

“But don’t you think,” she said at last, “it is _amazingly cool!_”

Ursula laughed.

“I like him for it,” she said.

Gudrun was silent. It was evident that, whilst she was almost mortified by Gerald’s taking the liberty of making such a suggestion to Birkin, yet the idea itself