'Don't imagine it for a moment, dear. When your father comes back after ten years you shiver in his presence—you feel as if you had jumped into a frosty sea out of the summer. I did when I went to him from you.'
She kicked her heels against the wall, and sat on her hands, looking round and up at Frank like a bird. Then she turned her gaze into the tree. In the mood that held her, to think was to resolve. She came to her feet, and stood before her lover.
'What would you think if I were to tell you that my father had chosen a husband for me?'
'I should think it the height of folly, unless I were his selection.'
'Come to him now. Say to him that you love me, and that I love you, and that he may kill me if he likes, but that I will never marry anybody else.'
'This is encouraging.'
'And you will need courage.'
'What is wrong?'
'You'll know soon enough. Come.' And she led him to the house. She danced along the path. Her eyes clashed against his.
'I'm in the major key,' she said.