‘Well, he’s quite unimportant. But what’s wrong with Halliday?’

‘Julius’s the most awful coward you’ve ever seen,’ she cried. ‘He always faints if I lift a knife—he’s tewwified of me.’

‘H’m!’ said Gerald.

‘They’re all afwaid of me,’ she said. ‘Only the Jew thinks he’s going to show his courage. But he’s the biggest coward of them all, really, because he’s afwaid what people will think about him—and Julius doesn’t care about that.’

‘They’ve a lot of valour between them,’ said Gerald good–humouredly.

The Pussum looked at him with a slow, slow smile. She was very handsome, flushed, and confident in dreadful knowledge. Two little points of light glinted on Gerald’s eyes.

‘Why do they call you Pussum, because you’re like a cat?’ he asked her.

‘I expect so,’ she said.

The smile grew more intense on his face.

‘You are, rather; or a young, female panther.’

‘Oh God, Gerald!’ said Birkin, in some disgust.

They both looked uneasily at Birkin.

‘You’re silent tonight, Wupert,’ she said to him, with a slight insolence, being safe with the other man.

Halliday was coming back, looking forlorn and sick.

‘Pussum,’ he said, ‘I wish you wouldn’t do these things—Oh!’ He sank in his chair with a groan.

‘You’d better go home,’ she said to him.

‘I WILL go home,’ he said. ‘But won’t you all come along. Won’t you come round to the flat?’ he said to Gerald. ‘I should be so glad if you would. Do—that’ll be splendid. I say?’ He looked round for a waiter. ‘Get me a taxi.’ Then he groaned again. ‘Oh I do feel—perfectly ghastly! Pussum, you see what you do to me.’

‘Then why are you such an idiot?’ she said with sullen calm.

‘But I’m not an idiot! Oh, how awful! Do come, everybody, it will be so splendid. Pussum, you are coming. What? Oh but you MUST come, yes, you must. What? Oh, my dear girl, don’t make a fuss now, I feel perfectly—Oh, it’s so ghastly—Ho!—er! Oh!’

‘You know you can’t drink,’ she said to him, coldly.

‘I tell you it isn’t drink—it’s your disgusting behaviour, Pussum, it’s nothing else. Oh, how awful! Libidnikov, do let us go.’

‘He’s only drunk one glass—only one glass,’ came the rapid, hushed voice of the young Russian.

They all moved off to the door. The girl kept near to Gerald, and seemed to be at one in her motion with him. He was aware of this, and filled with demon–satisfaction that his motion held good for two. He held her in the hollow of his will, and she was soft, secret, invisible in her stirring there.

They crowded five of them into the taxi–cab. Halliday lurched in first, and dropped into his seat against the other window. Then the Pussum took her place, and Gerald sat next to her. They heard the young Russian giving orders to the driver, then they were all seated in the dark, crowded close together, Halliday groaning and leaning out of the window. They felt the swift, muffled motion of the car.