“You will not go away.”
“Oh yes. I shall go away, far, far away.”
“You shall live with us always,” said Mary.
“I cannot! I cannot! When I am gone, and they tell you evil and cruel things of me, will you think of me kindly and love me still?”
“I will not believe them.”
“But if you should believe them, would you love me still? I cannot live without your love.”
“I will love you for ever,” said Mary, throwing her arms around her neck. “Why do you speak so sadly? You frighten me. What is the matter?”
“I am sleepy, so sleepy,” said Mary Magdalen, stretching herself on the couch.
Mary knelt at her side, chafing her hands, with some vague foreboding rising on her mind.
“Oh do not go to sleep so early. Do not leave me alone in the dark. Talk to me.”