"
He caressed the fair, sweet face.
"Thank you, my darling," he said. "How thin you are!" he added. "How you
have worn yourself away with fretting! What must I do to bring the roses
back to this sweet face, and the light that I remember so well to the
dear eyes?"
She looked up at him, her whole soul in her eyes.
"You have but one thing to do, and that is--love me," she said; "and
then I shall be the happiest wife in all the world. If a choice were
offered me of all the good gifts of this world, mine would be my
husband's love."
Lord Arleigh looked thoughtfully at her. The sunshine glistened through
the green boughs, and touched her graceful golden head as with an
aureole of glory.
"I am beginning to think," he said, "that all that happens is for the
best. We shall be wiser and better all our lives for having suffered."
"I think so too," observed Madaline.
"And my darling," he said, "I am quite sure of another thing. There are
many good gifts in the world--wealth, fame, rank, glory--but the best
gift of all is that which comes straight from Heaven--the love of a
pure, good wife."
Looking up, they saw the earl crossing the lawn to meet them.
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