"What then?" She repeated the words, still with an effort meeting his look.
He made a slight gesture with one hand. "You would stick to me?"
The hot colour flooded her face and neck. "Of course," she said, her voice very low. "That goes without saying."
He bent slowly towards her. "Maud, if we ever live alone together, it must be as man and wife."
His voice was low too, but she heard in it a deep note that seemed to pierce through and through her. His eyes drew and held her own. She wanted to avoid them but could not. They burned like the red, inner heart of a furnace.
The blood receded from her face. She felt it go. "We--need never live alone," she said faintly.
He held out a quiet hand to her. "P'raps not. But I should like your promise to that, all the same." He paused a moment; then added: "I have sworn already to be good to you, remember."
She laid her hand in his. She could not do otherwise. He held it and waited.
"Very well," she said at last, her voice almost a whisper. "I--agree."
He let her go, and straightened himself. "It's a deal, then," he said. "And now for more immediate details. You've decided to marry me, and I gather you don't mind how soon?"