"But need we wait for long?" he pleaded. "How soon will you marry me?"
"There is a long journey to the Magical Island—a long journey. But in a few weeks perhaps we can begin to think about it."
He leaned towards her. "A few weeks! and I count the days until you are really mine. How soon do you think Rob will let me travel?"
"I don't know. Let us ask him."
He nodded. "I will ask him. And then—you will not keep me waiting?"
"I will not keep you waiting," she said soberly.
He kissed her fondly, and then rose to his feet and stood looking down at her as she stretched out her hand and drew a thread from the pile of silks which lay on a table beside her.
"How industrious you are. Time was when you never touched a needle, and now you are always at work."
"I am developing good habits, that is all. There is no saying what I shall take to next; you must never be surprised."
"I know the cause, and I love you for it."