"But though I know that if eighteen were taken away from forty-two nothing could remain—at least, nothing that would make life worth living—I still can't make forty-two equal to eighteen. Eighteen is so much more than forty-two in every dimension that matters—in youth and health and joy and vigour and everything else that counts."
"Your language is charming, Sir Reggie, but your arithmetic leaves much to be desired."
"Sir me no sirs, if you love me. Reggie, plain Reggie, an' it please you. But, sweetheart, I have been struggling for months not to let you know that I love you, as I felt it was not fair to ask a young girl like you to marry a stuffy old fogey like me."
"Very thoughtful of you! As I said, I have noticed concealment like a worm i' the bud feeding on your damask cheek for some time, but it didn't bluff me. When did you fall in love with me?"
"The first moment that I saw you."
Fay nodded her head—as well as circumstances would permit it. "I'm not surprised. That large black hat is very becoming."
"And when did you fall in love with me, my darling?" I asked.
"Not the first moment that I saw you."
I laughed. "I didn't expect you would."
"Long, long before that: from Frankie's description of you."