Thus they began their wedding journey.
III
It was a May morning on an island off the English coast. He had gone with her to the extreme end of a promontory where the cliff descends sheer into the sea. He wished to ask her something privately but did not dare to; therefore they stood there silently staring into the blue emptiness, seeking an object where there was none.
They had stayed there six days without being able to marry because through carelessness the notice of his divorce had not been published till some months after he had obtained a decree. Accordingly it bore so late a date that the time allowed for challenging it had not yet elapsed. He had exchanged telegrams with the authorities; confusion and misunderstanding caused further delay, and his fiancée's sister became impatient.
"Do you trust me?" he asked her.
"Yes, I believe in your honesty, but you are an unlucky creature."
"And your sister?"
"What is she to believe? She does not know you. She only knows that your assurances that the documents were valid, were incorrect."
"She is right, but it is not my fault. What does she mean to do?"