"My dear, it is for you to do as you like. It's a God-forsaken place, I fancy. But you'll soon be coming back."
She ventured tremulously, "Will you be lonely without me?"
"Of course. What a silly question, Hildegarde!"
His tone was light, and his answer left her unsatisfied. Well, if he cared so little, why should she care? She would go and let him see how life seemed without her. And what was more, she would ask Crispin to come to the farm. He had spoken of an early visit to his parents. Why not make the two visits coincide? She wrote to him, and his answer was ecstatic:
"It will be quite the most perfect thing that has happened to me in a long time—to have you out there, all to myself."
