“Elizabeth, there are papers to be drawn up, and–––”
“Mack, please don’t! I’m tired, and can’t 391 stand much. Don’t try to change my decision.”
“But those papers which Harold is to draw up must alter that decision. That is the only ground on which I shall accept the terms. Your father is to be given all the time he needs to pay me back. At first I flatly refused. I didn’t want to take any of his money. But Uncle Josiah made me see that it was the only thing to do.”
“Of course, it is the only thing to do. You are going to let Harold draft those papers because Father must give up what does not belong to him.”
“I’ll not permit one stroke of the pen unless–––”
“But, Mack, you must! This is your duty to make Father–––”
“Elizabeth, dear, it is not your father’s money I want. All that means nothing to me. I am consenting to the arrangement simply because I believe it will be best for him to pay it back. It’s you I want!”
She turned from him to look out over Long Island Sound. The sun was completing its 392 daily journey by tossing up glorious hues of gold, splashing the western sky without stint from its unseen pot of blending colors. Her face seemed to catch and hold the glory of the sky.
“Beth, we must not sacrifice the love which God has given us. That is something which all the money in the world cannot buy.”
She turned about to face him. Her eyes were filled with the reflection of the fire that glowed on the inner shrine of her heart.