III.

All this time Gawayne lies a-bed. Þus laykeȝ þis lorde by lynde wodeȝ eueȝ, & G. þe god mon, in gay bed lygeȝ, under "coverture full clear". 1180 Lurkkeȝ quyl þe day-lyȝt lemed on þe wowes, Vnder couertour ful clere, cortyned aboute; & as in slomeryng he slode, sleȝly he herde He hears a noise at his door. A littel dyn at his dor, & derfly vpon; 1184 & he heueȝ vp his hed out of þe cloþes, [Fol. 107.] A corner of þe cortyn he caȝt vp a lyttel, & wayteȝ warly þider-warde, quat hit be myȝt. A lady, the loveliest to behold, enters softly. Hit watȝ þe ladi, loflyest to be-holde, 1188 Þat droȝ þe dor after hir ful dernly¹ & stylle, She approaches the bed. & boȝed to-warde þe bed; & þe burne schamed. & layde hym doun lystyly, & let as he slepte. Gawayne pretends to be asleep. & ho stepped stilly. & stel to his bedde, The lady casts up the curtain and sits on the bedside. 1192 Kest vp þe cortyn, & creped with-inne, & set hir ful softly on þe bed-syde, & lenged þere selly longe, to loke quen he wakened. Þe lede lay lurked a ful longe quyle, Gawayne has much wonder thereat. 1196 Compast in his concience to quat þat cace myȝt Mene oþer amount, to meruayle hym þoȝt; Bot ȝet he sayde in hym-self, "more semly hit were To aspye wyth my spelle [in] space quat ho wolde." He rouses himself up, 1200 þen he wakenede, & wroth, & to hir warde torned, unlocks his eyes, and looks as if he were astonished. & vn-louked his yȝe-lyddeȝ, & let as hym wondered, & sayned hym, as bi his saȝe þe sauer to worthe, with hande; 1204 Wyth chynne & cheke ful swete, Boþe quit & red in-blande, Ful lufly con ho lete, Wyth lyppeȝ smal laȝande. ¹ deruly (?).