"Can I do nothing?"
"Yes; talk to me, Lauretta."
I was never tired of uttering her name. It was the sweetest word in all the languages.
"Well, then," she said, clasping her hands in her lap, she had gently withdrawn the hand I held, "what shall I talk about?"
"About your friends. When I am strong, I shall want to know them. Introduce me to them beforehand."
"I introduce you, then," she said with tender gravity, without losing touch of her lighter mood, "to everybody."
"Is everybody your friend, Lauretta?"
"Yes, everybody--truly! and it makes me very glad to know it."
"But there are special ones, Lauretta."
"Of course there are special ones. First, my dearest."