For a long minute Jeremy stood regarding his wife.
Then suddenly he smiled—the smile of a man who has suddenly come upon the truth.
He stepped to Eve and put his arms about her.
“What a fool I’ve been,” he said. “What a blinking, blear-eyed fool. Of course, it’s partly your fault. You gave me my choice when you had no choice to give.”
“What do you mean, Jeremy?”
“You asked me which I would marry—the child or the witch or the princess. Well, I couldn’t pick and choose. I had to marry the three—or none at all.”
“But——”
“Listen. When you’re a child, I’ll play with your pretty toys: when you’re a witch, I’ll—I’ll play with your beautiful hair: and when you’re a princess. . . .”
“Yes, yes,”—eagerly.
“Why, then,” said Jeremy proudly, “I’ll play the prince.”