She was in his arms now, close—ah, close! to the heart that beat for her alone. The freshness of her pure lips was pressed to his.
The moment was of heaven, and from heaven. Two pure and noble natures were united by God in their love for each other. And now they are sitting side by side and hand in hand.
The world is changed for them. Never again will it be the same, for they have tasted of the fruits of Paradise, have heard music which echoes from the shining pavements of the blest ...
"Darling, there are no words at all in which to tell you how I love you. I have not a thought in the world which is not bound up in you, not a wish that is not centred in you."
"And I in you. Oh, Tom, I did not know it was possible to be so happy."
How long they sat thus in the quiet, dainty room neither of them could have said. Time, so slow moving and leaden-footed in the hours of hope, flies with swiftest wings when hope has blossomed into fruition.
There was so much to say and tell! All their thoughts and hopes about each other from the very first must be mutually related, all the hidden secrets laid bare.
"Did you really think that of me, sweetheart? Oh, if I'd only known!..."
"But I wasn't different to other girls, really, darling. It was only because you, you loved me!"
Happy, roseate moments! Perhaps they are the best and finest which life has to give, that God bestows upon his servants here below.