I had a feeling of intense anger and bitterness at all this; but as he spoke, the scales seemed to fall from my eyes, and I saw that Amroth was right.  I wrestled with myself in silence.

Presently I said, “Amroth, I believe you are right, though I think at this moment that you have stated all this rather harshly.  But I do see that it can be no pleasure to you to state it, though I fear I shall never regain my pleasure in your company.”

“There,” said Amroth, “that is sentiment again!”

This put me into a great passion.

“Very well,” I said, “I will say no more.  Perhaps you will just be good enough to tell me what I am to do with Cynthia, and where I am to go, and then I will trouble you no longer.”

“Oh,” said Amroth with a sneer, “I have no doubt you can find some very nice semidetached villas hereabouts.  Why not settle down, and make the poor girl a little mote worthy of yourself?”

At this I turned from him in great anger, and left him standing where he was.  If ever I hated any one, I hated Amroth at that moment.  I went back to Cynthia.

“I have come back to you, dear,” I said.  “Can you trust me and go with me?  No one here seems inclined to help us, and we must just help each other.”

At which Cynthia rose and flung herself into my arms.

“That was what I wanted all along,” she said, “to feel that I could be of use too.  You will see how brave I can be.  I can go anywhere with you and do anything, because I think I have loved you all the time.”

“And you must forgive me, Cynthia,” I said, “as well.  For I did not know till this moment that I loved you, but I know it now; and I shall love you to the end.”

As I said these words I turned, and saw Amroth smiling from afar; then with a wave of the hand to us, he turned and passed out of our sight.

XXVIII

Left to ourselves, Cynthia and I sat awhile in silence, hand in hand, like children, she looking anxiously at me.  Our talk had broken down all possible reserve between us; but what was strange to me was that I felt, not like a lover with any need to woo, but as though we two had long since been wedded, and had just come to a knowledge of each other’s hearts.  At last we rose; and strange and bewildering as it all was, I think I was perhaps happier at this time than at any other time in the land of light, before or after.

And let me here say a word about these strange unions of soul that take place in that other land.  There is there a whole range of affections, from courteous tolerance to intense passion.  But there is a peculiar bond which springs up between pairs of people, not always of different sex, in that country.  My relation with Amroth had nothing of that emotion about it.  That was simply like a transcendental essence of perfect friendship; but there was a peculiar relation,