“He – kept talking – and I wanted – to think.” Her eyes pleaded with him to understand and, when he smiled, she felt as if the sun had come out.
“I understand,” he said, “but it was wrong of you to take such risks with yourself.”
“But – you have – found me.”
“I found you and I thank God for it,” the Regent replied, “and now, if you are strong enough, I will take you home.” “Home?”
For the first time since he had found her, she saw by the expression in his eyes that all their problems and unhappiness had returned.
“I-I cannot go – back.”
“You have to,” he replied. “There is no alternative”‘
He spoke gently with a sadness that was far more convincing than any other tone he could have used and she knew that he spoke the truth. There was no alternative.
As he had said before, the well-
