"Yes, dear, I know," he said, for he had the sure conviction out of his sympathy for the child.
"And you are glad? Even as I am?"
"Indeed I am! I love you with all my heart, my dear."
She looked at him a moment longer, and then her sight grew faint, and her face hid itself against his coat.
"Say it! Say it again!" she repeated, and her white fingers closed tightly upon his sleeve. "I have waited so long to hear you say it!"
An uneasy and half-distressed look came to his face instantly, as he looked down at the brown hair.
"What?" he asked. "What have you waited to hear me say?"
"That--the words you said just now." Her face still hidden, she hesitated.
"What did I say? That I loved you, my dear?"
She nodded silently, against his coat.