"You dear old thing," she said, in a whisper, "you must be aching in every bone. You may move now."
Lawrence changed his position slightly, but still held her.
"There's one thing I want to ask," he said, presently.
Prudence raised her head. "Oh, dear!" she exclaimed, with a smile, "when a person wants to ask one thing it's sure to be something dreadful."
She began to stroke her husband's face. Lawrence took her hand and held it fast.
"Nevertheless, I must ask it," he said.
"Well," she said, resignedly, "go on."
She lay looking at him with soft shining eyes, her lips curved in something far sweeter than a smile.
"Are you going to be cruel to me?" she asked.