“Possibly a solid hour. Not more.”
“It hasn’t made any difference, has it? There’s been no interruption. We’ve never let the thread drop. We’ve never lost touch. Not really.”
“No. We’ve never lost touch.”
“You needn’t repeat it as if it were a matter for mourning and repentance. I think it rather wonderful.... Take our return from the train, all the way down without a word. Were you sulking, Ban?”
“No. You know I wasn’t.”
“Of course I know it. It was simply that we didn’t need to talk. There’s no one else in the world like that.... How long is it? Three years—four—more than four years.
We twain once well in sunder What will the mad gods do For hate with me, I wond—‘”
“My God, Io! Don’t!”
“Oh, Ban; I’m sorry! Have I hurt you? I was dreaming back into the old world.”
“And I’ve been trying all these years not to.”