“Dear Christopher!” she sighed. “That is just the sort of idea you would suggest and, if I was in love with you, I would not hesitate.”
“Then let me take you away,” Christopher begged.
Loretta shook her head.
“Because I am so fond of you, I could not do anything that would spoil your life and eventually mine.”
“Why, why?” Christopher asked. “I love you, Loretta, and I swear that I would make you love me if you were my wife.”
It was difficult for Loretta to tell him that he was not in the least like her dream man, but he was kind, understanding, sympathetic and she was genuinely very fond of him.
But his offer was not what she wanted from life, not the love she had always envisaged and knew that when it came to her, she would recognise it instantly.
She held out her hand and he took
