She seemed to feel his arm on her shoulders, the touch of her arm on his neck, the cold kiss of the bitter sea stinging soul and body to new joyous life. She saw his happy face alight with laughter.
"Look! Isn't it worth it?"
Yes, it had been worth it, well worth it! And even as on that distant June morning while she looked, the restless dark horizon of the sea seemed to melt and soften, and the path of radiant gold sent by the first ray of the rising sun seemed to touch her feet and bring her answer--
Yes, life was well worth it indeed!
Who was she to cavil at what Fate had done? Who was she to worry over what she thought she had done? Comprehension came to her, she saw a clear and ordered sequence in which even her mistakes bore their fitting fruit. Life seemed to hold no cares, no errors, no animosities.
What was it Duke had said about taking too much wine that night?
"I shan't do it again, but I shouldn't have had this perfectly stunning time if I hadn't, should I?"
So it was in her life. She had had joy through her mistakes. She and her Love had been alone in the Great Sea of Time battling with the waves as best they could.
Nothing else mattered. They might be waifs on that sea, but they were together.
She slipped to her knees and watched the sun rise. Over how many mistakes, how many wasted minutes and opportunities and lives!