'George,' she continued, after a pause, 'I have travelled a good deal, and some might think me restless by nature. But I am not. I am quite content to rest here for ever. Won't you let me, George?' He pressed her closely to him. 'You shall never leave me, love. What moments these are, Marie!' 'I shall always think of this conservatory as the end of my wanderings. We did not feel quite sure, my love, did we, until your mother saw me?' 'I felt quite sure she could not but love my Marie.' 'George, suppose your mother had turned her back on me, would you have turned your back on me?' 'Why should we vex ourselves now with such questions? My mother likes you wonderfully well.' 'But suppose she had not received me well, would you have given me up?' 'Certainly not. Why do you ask such a question? Now that my mother has behaved so well, it is ungenerous to force such an answer from me.' 'I am not ungenerous, George. There is no harm in your telling me anything now, is there?' 'No, my love; you are quite right. You have a perfect right to my full confidence. I was utterly wrong to say you were ungenerous. Indeed, at the time I said the word, what I meant was that you forced me into saying an ungenerous thing when we think of how well my mother has treated me all my life, and especially on this occasion.' 'And if that change had not come over you in the train, if you had remained in the same state of mind as you were when you left London, would you, George, have given me up? Would you have sent poor Marie away from you some day?' 'I cannot tell. I do not know. I did not know. I was nearly mad, Marie. Cannot we forget all the bad past?' 'But, George, to think of the bad past while your arm is round me here makes the present more precious.' 'My darling! My darling! The past is nothing to me now! I think of only the present and the future.' 'Now, suppose you had promised your mother never to marry me if I became an infidel, would you, upon my becoming an infidel, give me up?' 'What earthly good can come of such strained and out-of-the-way suppositions? You are inventing difficulties for consideration just at the moment all difficulties have disappeared.' 'But there is no harm in your answering the question.' 'Well, I will make a bargain with you. If I answer you that question, will you promise to fix a day for our marriage?' 'I will.' 'Well, if I had promised my mother not to marry you if you became an infidel, I should keep my promise.' 'Oh, George, George, George! won't you be always as you are now? Won't you, love?' 'Yes, darling, I hope so. Now for your promise.' 'The promise I made to your mother?' 'No; the promise you made to me.' 'You said the sooner the better.' 'I said so, and mean it with all my soul, darling Marie.' 'I say so too.' 'God bless you! When shall it be?' 'When you please, George.' 'But you know, sweetheart, it is you who are to decide this matter.'