"You—you don't seem very glad to see me, Derry."
"I—I'm just stunned," he managed to say. "You see—"
"It IS a shocking surprise, Derry. I meant it to be. I've been planning it for years and years and YEARS! Please take off your coat—it's dripping wet!—and sit down near me, on that stool!"
Again he obeyed. He was big for the stool.
"You are glad to see me, aren't you, Derry?"
She was leaning over the edge of the big chair, and one of her hands went to his damp hair, brushing it back. It was a wonderful touch. He had never felt anything like it before in his life, and involuntarily he bent his head a little. In a moment she had hugged it up close to her.
"You ARE glad, aren't you, Derry? Say 'yes.'"
"Yes," he whispered.
He could feel the swift, excited beating of her heart.
"And I'm never going back again—to THEM," he heard her say, something suddenly low and fierce in her voice. "NEVER! I'm going to stay with you always, Derry. Always!"