"She's cleverer than you think. She sees that something's got to happen next. I couldn't stand another evening like the last."
"You couldn't," she agreed. "You couldn't possibly."
"We can't exactly go on like—like this, you know."
"Don't let's think about it. Here we are. Now this minute. It's an hour and a half till dinner time. Why, even if I go at nine we've got three hours."
"That's not enough…. You talk as though we could think or not think, as we chose. Even if we left off thinking we should have to go on living. Your mother knows that."
"I don't think she knows more than we do."
"She knows enough to frighten her. She knows what I want…. I want to marry you, Mary."
(This then was what she had been afraid of. But Mamma wouldn't have thought of it.)
"I didn't think you wanted to do that. Why should you?"
"It's the usual thing, isn't it? When you care enough."