"I did not choose it," Rupert said quietly. "There is no question of choice. It has to be. Don't make it harder for me by misunderstanding. For a moment I thought my kingdom had come, but that was a mistake. I have met my Queen, but I shall have to serve for her before she is really mine. Seven years I may have to serve--perhaps for twice seven years. Do you think a man would deliberately _choose_ such a fate? It's something stronger than choice between Eve and me. The simple truth is that I have no object in life but to help her to get back to the light. I'll tell you something else, too--_I'm the only man who can do ill_. I possess a power over her which no doctor or nurse could obtain. Good heavens! Haven't they had ten years for their experiments? How much longer would you have me content to stand by and wait? If she has any relations, they must be thankful to give her a chance of being cared for, for love instead of money. I'll find her a nurse, the best nurse that can be had. We'll take her abroad to live in the sun, away from all her old associations. She is afraid of those people--did you know that? She is not afraid of me. She _wants_ to come. My dear lady, this thing is going to _be_! The question is--am I to have your help?" Mrs Melhuish was not easily convinced, but she was conquered in the end, as were, in turns, the few relatives whom Eve possessed. All had been conscious that the time had come to make a change, and no more promising change could be imagined than the one proposed. From Eve's own point of view, that was to say! For Dempster it was a different matter. The relations felt it their duty to argue with him, to point out that he was recklessly shattering his life. But Dempster smiled, and persisted. Very well, then! let him have his way. So Rupert and Eve were married, and immediately after set sail for Egypt. One midsummer afternoon two years later, Rupert Dempster walked along an exquisite stretch of road in North Wales which divides the rocky course of the river Dee from a sleepy canal with fern-covered banks, and an overhanging arch of green. After the blazing Eastern lands in which the past years had been spent, the dewy loveliness of the scene was a delight to the senses. On every side rose the crests of green, smiling hills; the river broke into ripples of foam round the scattered rocks which strewed its bed. Along the still stream to the left floated a miniature barge, carrying a gay awning overhead. This was the omnibus of the neighbourhood, plying up and down the stream several times a day, and even as Rupert watched, its slow course was stayed, and one of the passengers alighted and walked slowly towards him.