But the boy is young, and most
of the journey lies before him. You chose for yourself, and so did I.
Shall we not grant him the same right?"
"Yes, but Rose--"
"Rose," interrupted the Colonel, "is too good for any man--even my own
son, though, as I said before, she is the only woman I would willingly
see him marry. You stand almost in his mother's place to him, but
neither you nor I can shield him now. We must try to remember that his
life is his--to make or mar."
"I know," she sighed, "I've thought it all out."
"Besides," he went on, "what could we do? Separation wouldn't last long,
if he wants her, and talking would only alienate him from us. Perhaps
you could bear it, but I--I couldn't."
"Nor I," she returned, quickly. "When we come to the sundown road, we
need all the love we have managed to take with us from the summit of the
hill. I hadn't meant to say anything to anyone," she went on, in a
changed tone, "but my heart was full, and you are--"
"Your best friend, Francesca, as you are mine. It seems to take a
lifetime for us to learn that wisdom consists largely in a graceful
acceptance of things that do not immediately concern us.
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