"You are giving up too much for me, my darling," I said; "I'm not worth it."
"But if you went out of my life I'd die!"
"I won't go out of your life, Lucy. But there are lives and lives. We could meet and be together to gather strength for the times we had to be apart."
At that she had a renewal of crying, and cried for a long time.
"It isn't right for Jock and Hurry to run any risk of losing you," I said, "and love—Lucy—love with renunciation is a wonderful thing, and a strong thing."
"I'm not strong. I don't want to be strong. I just want to give and give and give."
"We could have our own life apart from everybody else—but not a hidden guilty life—a life to be proud of—a life in which you would strengthen me for my other life and I would strengthen you for yours."
She stopped crying all at once and freed herself from my arms. "Then you don't want me?"
"I want you."
She lifted her hands to my shoulders. "Suppose we find that we can't stand a life of love—with renunciation?"