"A little older than that," said Saltash. "She's nineteen."
"Oh!" said Maud.
"Perhaps you do mean it now!" gibed Saltash, getting up in his sudden fashion.
Maud rose also, facing him in the starlight. "No, Charlie I don't! Because I know that the big things are in you and always have been, I would trust you—with my most precious possession."
He laughed again. "But when I gave it back to you, you would look all round it to make sure it hadn't been broken and stuck together again, wouldn't you, Maud of the Roses?"
"No," she said. "I wouldn't. I know—Charles Rex—better than that."
He made her a sweeping bow. "Most fair and gracious lady, do not forget that my crest is a fox's head and the motto thereupon, 'Sans vertu!'"
She smiled, looking at him with steadfast eyes. "I will give you another motto, Charlie," she said. "Those we love—we trust."
He made an abrupt movement. It was almost a protest. "For how long? Do you really love me, Maud of the Roses?"
She gave him both her hands without drawing any nearer. Her eyes were shining as stars that shine through mist. "Yes, I love you, Charlie," she said, "so much that I can't go on being happy till I know that you are too."