"In that case, you certainly will. So come on up out of the dumps."
"Wilco—and I certainly will. But for a woman who has been talking so big, I feel low in my mind. A good-night kiss, Clee, darling? Just one—and just a little one, at that?"
"Sweetheart!"
There were more than one, and none of them was little. Eventually, however, the two stood, arms still around each other, in the corridor between their doors.
"But kissing's as far as it goes, isn't it," Belle said. The remark was not a question; nor was it quite a statement.
"That's right."
"So good night, darling."
"Good night, ace."
And when they next saw each other, at the breakfast table, Belle was apparently her usual dauntless self.