"You can send me away at once," he said, "if you don't want me. You needn't mind my feelings, you know."
"Send you away!" she said. "I!"
He gave her a sudden, keen look, and held out his hand to her. "Never mind the rest of the world, Phyllis," he said, very gravely. "Let them say what they like, dear. If we want each other, there is no power on earth that can divide us."
She drew in her breath sharply as she laid her hand in his.
"And now," he said, "give me your answer. Will you marry me?"
He felt her hand move convulsively in his own. She was trembling still.
He bent towards her, gently drawing her. "It is 'Yes,' Phyllis," he whispered. "It must be 'Yes.'"
And after a moment, falteringly, through white lips, she answered him.
"It is—'Yes.'"