The phaeton disappeared out of sight at the turn of the drive and Petula stood for a long time looking at the place where she had last seen it.
Then a sigh seemed to come from the very depths of her being.
This, as the Major had said, was the end of the dream.
They had walked back to the house in silence, until, as they stood on the unkempt lawn, he turned to look at her face with an expression in his eyes that she could not fathom.
“This has been a dream,” he said quietly, “an enchantment that I think neither of us will ever forget.”
He paused for a moment and then added,
“We will not meet again, Petula, but never will I find elsewhere such a perfect moment of magic.”
He had not touched her, but she felt from the deep note in his voice that he still held her in his arms.
As if h
