Gudrun watched him as if in a hypnotic state, her eyes wide and fixed on him.
“But in what way do you mean, disappear?—” she persisted.
“Yes, do you mean a change of heart?” put in Gerald.
“I don’t mean anything, why should I?” said Birkin. “I’m an Englishman, and I’ve paid the price of it. I can’t talk about England—I can only speak for myself.”
“Yes,” said Gudrun slowly, “you love England immensely, immensely, Rupert.”
“And leave her,” he replied.
“No, not for good. You’ll come back,” said Gerald, nodding sagely.
“They say the lice crawl off a dying body,” said Birkin, with a glare of bitterness. “So I leave England.”
“Ah, but you’ll come back,” said Gudrun, with a sardonic smile.
“Tant pis pour moi,” he replied.