He kissed her until she could no longer think, but could only vibrate to a music that came from the sky and from her heart.
When at last he raised his head, the Earl said in a voice that was unsteady,
“My precious! My sweet dream! I have been longing for this moment!”
“I – thought you would – never come,” Olinda whispered. “I thought you – would no longer – want me.”
Her words were incoherent because it was difficult to speak.
But she thought as she looked up at him that she had never seen him look so happy.
“Not want you?” he asked incredulously. “How could you ever imagine such a thing?”
“You have – everything – now.”
“Everything but you,” he replied. “And you are essential to my happiness, as you must know.”
“Am – I?”
The Earl held her closer.
“What has happened to your insti
