embrance came--the echo of
his own words throbbed in his ear, bringing with them a second
revelation, the revelation of his own heart. He seized her in a grasp
violent in its intensity, and drew her towards him, gazing deep into her
eyes.

"Vanna, my beloved! This too! My love, and yours! A new earth indeed.
The words said themselves, darling; they have lived so long in my heart
that they slipped from my lips before I had realised my wealth. I who
thought I could never love, to have walked into it, step after step,
deliberately, blindly, until I found myself so deep down, so engulfed,
that I could not be free if I would. Vanna, I have only lived since I
knew you. It was you I needed all those empty years: you have given me
life, joy, hope; you must give me the last thing, too--your love! After
this vision I can't live without it. You are mine, Vanna; I can't give
you up." He drew her head to his shoulder and pressed passionate kisses
on her lips, her hair, her white, closed lids, and she clung to him,
forgetting everything in the bliss of certainty, the intoxicating
nearness, the touch of his lips on her own.

"Vanna! Was it _this_ you felt--a foretaste of this joy--when you
walked into your kingdom and read its message? It's in your Happy Land,
my dearest, you have found your love. May it be an omen of the future!
Speak to me!... Tell me in words. I have never heard a woman's lips
speak to me of love."

Vanna looked up at him, a wealth of devotion in the depths of her
eloquent eyes, but her lips trembled over the words:

"What can I say? The words won't come. I was lonely, too, and you are
everything--everything. From the very first day you filled my mind. I
thought it was friendship. When I found out, I struggled, but it was no
use, so I gave in, and let myself love you more and more. It was my
best happiness--the only happiness I could look for. I never ventured
to hope that you could love me."

He laughed, a low, tender laugh, and framing her face between his hands,
lifted it towards his own.

"Was I blind and deaf? Could I see you, and talk to you, and listen to
your praises from far and near, and keep my head? Do you know in the
least what you are like? I'll carry a little mirror in my pocket and
let you see yourself some time when you are animated and happy. I'll
make you admire yourself."

"Have you fallen in love with me for my looks?"

"Partly. Certainly. I love your looks