l you believe me now?" And, with a sort of
desperation, she threw herself into his arms, clinging there in eloquent
silence while he held her close; feeling, with a thrill of tender
triumph, that this was no longer little Rose, but a loving woman, ready
to live and die for him.

"Now I'm satisfied!" he said presently, when she lifted up her face,
full of maidenly shame at the sudden passion which had carried her out
of herself for a moment. "No don't slip away so soon. Let me keep you
for one blessed minute and feel that I have really found my Psyche."

"And I my Cupid," answered Rose, laughing, in spite of her emotion, at
the idea of Mac in that sentimental character.

He laughed, too, as only a happy lover could, then said, with sudden
seriousness: "Sweet soul! Lift up your lamp and look well before it is
too late, for I'm no god, only a very faulty man."

"Dear love! I will. But I have no fear, except that you will fly too
high for me to follow, because I have no wings."

"You shall live the poetry, and I will write it, so my little gift will
celebrate your greater one."

"No you shall have all the fame, and I'll be content to be known only as
the poet's wife."

"And I'll be proud to own that my best inspiration comes from the
beneficent life of a sweet and noble woman."

"Oh, Mac! We'll work together and try to make the world better by the
music and the love we leave behind us when we go."

"Please God, we will!" he answered fervently and, looking at her as she
stood there in the spring sunshine, glowing with the tender happiness,
high hopes, and earnest purposes that make life beautiful and sacred, he
felt that now the last leaf had folded back, the golden heart lay open
to the light, and his Rose had bloomed.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Rose in Bloom, by Louisa May Alcott

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