“Too long for me, Martin. I want to see her happy—I want to see them married before——”
“Before what, dear love?” he asked tenderly.
“Before we leave Rome.”
“That would be very short work. We leave in a fortnight. The weather will be growing too hot for you if we linger later.”
“Yes, but everything can be settled in less time than that. Ask Father Rodwell. He knows Rome so well that he can help you to arrange all details.”
“I thought that every young woman required at least six months for the preparation of her trousseau?”
“Not such a girl as Allegra. She is always well dressed, and her wardrobe is the perfection of neatness—but she is not the kind of girl to make a fuss about her clothes. I don’t think the trousseau will create any difficulty.”
“And when she is gone, what will you do without your devoted companion? Who will nurse you and take care of you?”
“Löttchen, or any other servant,” she answered, with a kind of weary indifference. “It would be very hard if my bad health should stand in the way of Allegra’s happiness. So long as you will stay with me and be kind to me, Martin, I need no one else.”