“I certainly—­will—­not!” Again she drew away.  “Jacqueline will not get here until July.  I told you she was coming home to live.  You don’t suppose I’d leave my mother before Jacqueline comes home?”

“Then when?”

“In October, perhaps.”  Slowly the color crept to her temples.  “It is so beautiful here in October.  There isn’t a month in all the year it will not hurt to leave.”  Sudden tears were in her eyes.  “But it would hurt worse not to be—­with—­you.  They were very long, Winthrop, the winter months that followed Christmas.  You have very poor manners.  You should have written first and told me you had enjoyed yourself instead of telling—­”

“What I could no longer keep back?  There was no time for manners.  I had to know.”

“But you didn’t, and because I couldn’t tell you.  Before, I have always been so quick to know.  To go away—­with just you!  I had to be so certain there was no other way of happiness.”  In the darkness she shivered slightly, and Laine drew her into his arms and held her close.

“Perhaps”—­her voice was so low he had to bend his head to hear it—­“perhaps it is because we are apart from the things that make one forget that I have thought more about what it should mean—­what marriage should mean—­than I might have done had there been no time to think.  It is forever, Winthrop, this life that we are entering.  Are we very, very sure there’s love enough to last?”

“I am very sure, Claudia.”  He lifted her hands to his lips and kissed them.  “For me your love will make of life a—­”

“Land that is not lonely?” Under her breath she laughed, to hide the sob in her throat.  “Oh, Winthrop Laine, it is what love is for!  And no one’s land is lonely when there is love enough!”

***End of the project gutenberg EBOOK the man in lonely land***

******* This file should be named 12971.txt or 12971.zip *******

This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:  http://www.gutenberg.net/1/2/9/7/12971

Updated editions will replace the previous one—­the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the project gutenberg-tm concept and trademark.  Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research.  They may be modified and printed and given away—­you may do practically anything with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.