Gerald watched him steadily.
‘So you’re fond of her then?’ he asked.
‘I think — I love her,’ said Birkin, his face going very still and fixed.
Gerald glistened for a moment with pleasure, as if it were something done specially to please him. Then his face assumed a fitting gravity, and he nodded his head slowly.
‘You know,’ he said, ‘I always believed in love — true love. But where does one find it nowadays?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Birkin.
‘Very rarely,’ said Gerald. Then, after a pause, ‘I’ve never felt it myself — not what I should call love. I’ve