“It was all a joke, sweetest,” he pleaded; “but it was a stupid joke, and it has distressed you. Did you dream I doubted you?”
“No.”
“Well, then, say you knew it was a joke.”
“Yes, dear, I know it was,—of course it was; but it—it rather frightened me.”
“Poor child! Never mind; you’ll be amused when you think of it presently. And, my darling, it really, seriously, does make me happier. I never doubted, but it is pleasant to hear the truth from your own sweet lips. Now I am ready for all the world. And what about the day?”
“The day?”
“Of course you don’t know what day! Shall it be directly?”
“What does ‘directly’ mean?” asked Neaera, mustering a rather watery smile.
“In a week.”