But he laid his head on her bosom and kissed her all
about, and said: Nay, my own love, it is well,
it is better. And she murmured over him:
O friend, my dear, think not that I had will to hide
me from thee. All that is here of me is thine,
and thine, and thine.
And she took his hand and they arose together, and
she said: O friend, I fled from thee once and
left thee lonely of me because I deemed need drave
me to it; and I feared the strife of friends, and
confusion and tangle. Now if thou wilt avenge
thee on me thou mayest, for I am in thy power.
Yet will I ask thee what need will drive thee to
leave me lonely?
He said: The need of death. But she said:
Mayhappen we shall lie together then, as here to-night
we shall lie.
On the morrow it was sweet times betwixt those twain,
and what was hard and fierce of their love they seemed
to have put behind them. A dear joy it was to
Birdalone that day to busy herself about the housekeeping,
and to provide whatsoever seemed now, or had seemed
to her in her early days, to be dainties of their
meadow and woodland husbandry, as cream and junkets
and wood-fruit and honey, and fine bread made for
that very occasion.
Withal she was careful as a mother with a child that
he should not over-weary himself with the sun of the
early summer, but rather to follow the brook up into
the wood and lie adown in the flecked shadow and rest
him wholly, as if there were nought for him to do but
to take in rest all that was done for his service,
both by the earth and by the hands and nimble feet
of Birdalone. And as she was wilful in other
ways of her cherishing, so also in this, that for nought
in that daylight would she go anywise disarrayed,
nay not so much as to go barefoot, though he prayed
her thereof sorely, and told her that fairer and sweeter
she was in her smock alone than in any other raiment.
For in the morning she went in her woodland green
let down to her heels, and when the day wore towards
evening, and the wind came cool from over the Great
Water, then she did on her wonder-raiment which the
wood-wife had given her, and led Arthur over the meadows
here and there, and went gleaming by the side of the
black-clad man along the water’s lip.
And they looked forth on to Green Eyot and Rock Eyot,
and stood by the shallow bight where she had bathed
those times; and they went along to the dismal creek
where the Sending Boat was wont to lie, and where
yet lay the scattered staves of it; and then along
the meadow-land they went from end to end, resting
oft on the flowery grass, till the dews began to fall
and the moon cast shadows on the greensward.
Then home they fared to the house; and again on the
way must Birdalone feign for their disport that the
witch was come back again, and was awaiting her to
play the tyrant with her; and Arthur fell in with
her game, and kissed her and clipped her, and then
drew his sword and said: By All-hallows I shall
smite off her head if she but lay a finger on thee.
