reaction from her-and to be her opposite is to be her counterpart.'
'Ah, opposite!' cried Ursula. 'I know your dodges. I am not taken in by
your word-twisting. You belong to Hermione and her dead show. Well, if
you do, you do. I don't blame you. But then you've nothing to do with
me.
In his inflamed, overwrought exasperation, he stopped the car, and they
sat there, in the middle of the country lane, to have it out. It was a
crisis of war between them, so they did not see the ridiculousness of
their situation.
'If you weren't a fool, if only you weren't a fool,' he cried in bitter
despair, 'you'd see that one could be decent, even when one has been
wrong. I WAS wrong to go on all those years with Hermione--it was a
deathly process. But after all, one can have a little human decency.
But no, you would tear my soul out with your jealousy at the very
mention of Hermione's name.'
'I jealous! I--jealous! You ARE mistaken if you think that. I'm not
jealous in the least of Hermione, she is nothing to me, not THAT!' And
Ursula snapped her fingers. 'No, it's you who are a liar. It's you who
must return, like a dog to his vomit. It is what Hermione STANDS FOR
that I HATE. I HATE it. It is lies, it is false, it is death. But you
want it, you can't help it, you can't help yourself. You belong to that
old, deathly way of living--then go back to it. But don't come to me,
for I've nothing to do with it.'
And in the stress of her violent emotion, she got down from the car and
went to the hedgerow, picking unconsciously some flesh-pink
spindleberries, some of which were burst, showing their orange seeds.
'Ah, you are a fool,' he cried, bitterly, with some contempt.
'Yes, I am. I AM a fool. And thank God for it. I'm too big a fool to
swallow your cleverness. God be praised. You go to your women--go to
them--they are your sort--you've always had a string of them trailing
after you--and you always will. Go to your spiritual brides--but don't
come to me as well, because I'm not having any, thank you. You're not
satisfied, are you? Your spiritual brides can't give you what you want,
they aren't common and fleshy enough for you, aren't they? So you come
to me, and keep them in the background! You will marry me for daily
use. But you'll keep yourself well provided with spiritual brides in
the background. I know your dirty little game.' Suddenly a flame ran
over her, and she stamped her foot madly on the road, and he winced,
afraid that she would strike him. 'And I, I'M not spiritual enough, I'M
not as spiritual as that Hermione--!' Her brows knitted, her eyes
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