“They're TOO dark.”

It occurred to him suddenly that he had forgotten larches. They, of course, could be heavenly, when you lay under them and looked up at the sky, as he had that afternoon out there. Then he heard her say:

“If I could only have one flower, I should have lilies of the valley, the small ones that grow wild and smell so jolly.”

He had a swift vision of another flower, dark—very different, and was silent.

“What would you have, Mark?” Her voice sounded a little hurt. “You ARE thinking of one, aren't you?”

He said honestly:

“Yes, I am.”

“Which?”

“It's dark, too; you wouldn't care for it a bit.”

“How d'you know?”