Elizabeth had left the door open. Darcy stared between the gaping view of the hallway and Lady Margaret. His fiancée was pressing the back of her knuckles against her mouth.

Darcy ran after Elizabeth.

She was still in the entry hall, sobbing against one of the marble pilasters. But the instant she saw him she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly.

"I'll become your mistress. I will. I was a fool to refuse you in November. Such a fool. I love you so, I'll do anything. I do not care anymore."

"Lizzy—"

Mrs. Gardiner seized her niece by the wrist and jerked her away, saying, "She is only distraught due to her sister's actions. I beg you, by all that is sacred, by whatever affection you have felt for my niece, please do not abuse her present weakness."

Elizabeth tried to pull away from her aunt, but then her eye fixed on something behind Darcy, and she gave up struggling.

Darcy exclaimed, "Wait!"

Mrs. Gardiner ignored him and her fast strides dragged them both out Darcy's door. In an instant they were gone, the heavy oak door of his entrance swung shut behind the last image of Elizabeth's fluttering skirts.

Darcy looked back towards the drawing room. Lady Margaret stood framed by the hallway. Her mouth formed a perfect O. Georgiana stood behind her with a crooked smile.

Darcy took a deep breath. He had decided to end the engagement to Lady Margaret when he saw them in the same room together. It made him feel disgusting and dishonorable and less of a gentleman. But the alternative of letting Elizabeth go or betraying Lady Margaret was far worse. He just hoped Radnor didn't demand the opportunity to shoot him through.

Looking at the white face of the woman he had asked to marry, Darcy felt sick as he prepared to break her heart. "My Lady, I have used you abominably, but it is absolutely impossible for me to marry you."

Georgiana grinned, "Shall you marry Lizzy?"

"Since November." Lady Margaret's gaze bounced between the door, the chandelier, one of the paintings on the wall and Darcy. "You…you made an indecent request to her in November."

"I did."

"All this time… When you asked me to marry you…were you in love with her?"

"It was terribly wrong of me and—"

Lady Margaret collapsed onto one of the brown leather chairs along the wall with a long shuddering sigh. "I am so relieved. My explanations for why you have treated me so coldly were so much worse, and far more fantastical. I thought there was something terribly amiss that I had unknowingly done. But now I understand."

Darcy blinked. This was not how he had expected her to react.

He said, "I cannot ask for forgiveness as I do not deserve any and—"

"Yes, yes. You behaved abominably. You really did." Lady Margaret giggled in relief. "I fancied myself in love with you, and you could not stand to be touched. I expected to at least be kissed. Lord! If you had no care for me, why did you ask me to marry you?"

Darcy rubbed at his face and forehead. "I was behaving selfishly and—"

"No, none of that. I know men mostly do not keep their vows. But I thought you were better than that."

"I would have kept them if I married you. It is why I cannot."

"That is not a sweet sentiment."

Georgiana chirpily said, "I think it is."

Lady Margaret exclaimed, "Why? Tell me honest, I deserve to know."

Darcy sat down on a chair on the opposite side of the hall, facing Lady Margaret. Georgiana grinned widely and hopped onto her own chair. "Georgie, go. Write a note to summon Radnor and Matlock. I need to have this out with Radnor."

"But—"

"Go!"

Georgiana stood and said in an offended tone, "Oh, if you insist."

Darcy rubbed at his forehead. Now that Lady Margaret wasn't heartbroken, his deepest worry was that Radnor would kill him as he sent shot after shot at Darcy during a duel. Radnor would be the challenger, so Darcy could demand they do it from a long distance, and Lord Radnor was only a decent shot.

Lady Margaret saw Darcy's nervousness, "I doubt Papa will call you out. After all you've taken no liberties with me."

Darcy grunted.

"Why did you ask me to marry you?"

"I had decided not to offer for you, then I realized I was in love with Miss Elizabeth and I foolishly panicked. I decided I needed to do something to ensure I could never marry her. Richard had got me very drunk, and I was not thinking clearly. He was absolutely insistent that I marry you, and I offered the next morning before I had any opportunity to think soberly about it."

"You looked quite pale that morning. I thought it was nerves. I found the idea that you were nervous so fetching. But you weren't at all, were you." Lady Margaret frowned at picked at the sleeve of her dress. "She appeared genteel. Distraught, and she stared at me so, but genteel."

"She is unexceptional, but her family circumstances are shockingly scandalous."

"Yes, she said as much." Suddenly Lady Margaret laughed shakily. "You did very wrong. And even knowing everything was wrong, I would have married you. It was obviously foolish of me. But you…"

"I do not deserve your forgiveness."

"I dare say you do not."

Georgiana walked back in. "Runners have been sent off. I want to know too. Why did you decide to offer for Grettie?"

"Do not call me that. You are not my friend, and never have been. I've seen how you've smiled the entire time. Darcy at least has the good nature to be terribly ashamed of himself."

"It is as much your fault—"

Darcy interrupted her, "Georgiana Darcy. One word, one word against Margaret, and you shall be sent to the country for the rest of the season."

"But then I wouldn't be here when you marry Lizzy."

"Exactly."

"You are no fun."

Georgiana sat down with a pout.

Lady Margaret said, "I liked you very much. Everyone said it would be such a great match, and you are so tall and handsome, and you were so charming until that week when everyone was telling me that we should make a match of it. Then you frowned while pretending to flirt. I knew even when I accepted you something was wrong. Mama shall be terribly angry."

"Yes. Rightfully so."

Some minutes later Radnor and Matlock, who had been at a club together, arrived. Radnor looked between his daughter and Darcy. Despite his jovial features and plump stomach, Radnor glared menacingly at Darcy. "What is this about you jilting my daughter?"

Radnor then glanced at the calm face of his daughter and, seeing her not in the least devastated, exclaimed, "Georgie, is this some prank of yours?"

Darcy said solemnly to Radnor. "I know it is deeply ungentlemanly, but I must end my engagement to your daughter."

Radnor stared back at him. Darcy felt spurts of nerves as he held the man's gaze.

"What is this about? What is wrong with my girl? You are not a man to act so lightly. I'll hear you out before I demand satisfaction."

"There is nothing amiss with Lady Margaret. She is an exemplary woman. I am entirely at fault. I am in love with a different woman, and it is impossible for me to marry anyone but her."

Radnor screwed his face into a scowl. "In love you say. Of course you are."

"I shall pay any sum you ask as compensation for the breach of promise, and…if you demand it, I will meet you."

Matlock exclaimed, "There shall be no talk of dueling. Do not be absurd."

"Let's not be so hasty," Radnor snarled at Darcy. "What liberties have you taken with my Greta?"

"Do not be tiresome, Papa." Lady Margaret laid her hand on her father's arm and pushed him to sit down. "He has not even kissed me. Never even tried. I knew something was dreadfully wrong. But the situation is like Pamela."

Georgiana exclaimed, "It is not!"

"It very much is. You see Darcy asked her to be his mistress last year, and she refused, and now he is desperately in love and plans to marry her."

"Good God!" Matlock looked at his nephew aghast. "You did fall in love with a tavern wench."

Lady Margaret giggled. "It is not that bad. She is an almost presentable little thing. Though under the circumstances I could hardly tell much of her. I do wish Darcy had not involved me in the whole matter, but he is dreadfully ashamed, and I am just so relieved that I shall not need to marry him any longer."

Darcy watched Radnor's face. His scowl relaxed, and he said, "Never even kissed her, eh. What a deuced bit of nonsense. If you were sure you had made a mistake, you should have told us sooner. Remember, I knew your father. It is no surprise you will throw everything over for a woman. I've always half suspected that that hunting accident so soon after Lady Anne died was…" Radnor looked at the suddenly closed off expressions on Matlock and Darcy's faces. "Oh. So that is how it was."

Matlock bashed his fist against the armrest of his chair several times. "Yes. That is how it was. So dash it, Darcy, how bad is she."

"Miss Elizabeth's father was a respectable man but the estate was entailed to a distant cousin. She is completely penniless and lives off the charity of her uncles, one of whom is a Cit, whose house shows every sign of respectability and success. Her other uncle is a minor country lawyer who is the most odious man I have ever lost a handful of pounds to."

Matlock grimaced. "A Cit, eh? That is not all. You'd not have made all this fuss if there wasn't more."

"Her youngest sister married a local blacksmith after being found with child. Her oldest sister ran away to be the mistress of Mr. Bingley, two days ago. That, I think, is the worst of it. Though I dislike her mother as much as her uncle."

Matlock and Radnor exchanged a long look. Radnor said, "Just like his father."

Matlock nodded.

Darcy said, "Radnor, I know I treated your family abominably and with a complete absence of honor. Is there anything I might do to lessen my guilt?"

"Just like your father." Radnor scratched at his head. "Deuced if I know. You are going to be a complete joke, and I would just look greedy if I took your money."

Darcy opened his mouth again.

"Don't keep apologizing. We all know you've made a god awful display of yourself and that you should have behaved better."

Darcy looked at Lord Matlock. "I know I have disappointed you greatly. You always told me to not let myself get carried away with a woman and—"

"Disappointed me?" Matlock rubbed at his nose. "I am not disappointed."

"But—"

"You should have known your mind before you attached Margaret, but you never throw away fortunes at gaming tables or get into any serious scrapes, you've earned a pass for one such matter."

Radnor grunted again and exclaimed, "It will be a deuced mess. They'll talk more about you, but they will talk about Grettie a great deal too."

"Papa, that does not signify. I am not going to let you and Mama arrange my next match. I think Georgie is right when she says I should think seriously myself about such matters." She then turned to Georgiana, "Though I insist that is likely the only matter you are right on."

Georgiana shrugged, clearly unbothered by Lady Margaret's dislike.

Radnor asked Matlock, "Can Susan break the news to my wife? It was their scheme, but she will blame me for everything."

Matlock magnanimously tilted his head. "Certainly. We will return to Matlock House to inform her and then skip out to the club until we've heard everyone has calmed. Probably in a week. Susan will be in high dudgeon herself. Damned good thing that they keep all women off the premises."

Lady Margaret looked a little pale at the prospect of facing her mother and aunt, but she stood up when her father ordered her to follow him out.

Matlock said, "I'll follow you in a bit. If you want to tell your sister instead of me, I won't be bothered."

Radnor pointed at Darcy, "Your nephew, not mine."

"Quite right." Matlock grabbed Darcy's arm. "I will have a word in private with you before you call on your lady-love."

His uncle forcefully led Darcy deeper into the house. The look on Matlock's face was grim.

Despite their differences, in many ways Matlock was Darcy's hero.

When they got to the corridor which led behind the house where the carriage yard and stables were, Matlock opened the door and called to Darcy's groom and coachmen, who were seated around a small round table playing cards, "Have the carriage prepared for Darcy."

He closed the door again and stared hard at Darcy. "I am not disappointed, and I do not care if you marry a Cit or a bargirl, or whatever this Elizabeth is. It isn't ideal, but nothing is. But by God, you will swear to never do what your father did."

Darcy nodded.

"Listen, she might die young. By Jove, I hope that never happens. I hope she lives past seventy and is healthy the entire time. But, I will have you swear that if she dies, you will cling to your friends and live on."

Darcy was deeply touched by his uncle's concern and the realization that Matlock would not oppose the marriage. With a surge of emotion, he embraced his uncle. "I would never do what you fear. You taught me to live each moment to the fullest. With Elizabeth I will do that, but if misfortune strikes…there would still be beauty in each moment. I could never betray you and her in that way."

"I have taught you so well, have I?" His uncle's voice was gruff, and his eyes were suddenly shiny.

Darcy felt tears sitting in the back of his eyes. "You have."

Matlock squeezed his forearms. "I'll still have you swear it. Aloud."

"I swear by my love for Elizabeth, and my love for you, I swear that no matter what happens in the future I will cling to my friends and my family and live on for the memory of those whom I have loved."

"Well then." Matlock cleared his throat. "Well then, I think you had best be off. I look forward to meeting your girl."

During the drive to Gracechurch Street, Darcy decided that unexpectedly the day was going fabulously. All that remained was to convince Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner to let him see Elizabeth.

It was an hour past noon when Darcy arrived in front of the Gardiners' house. The shops and warehouses in Cheapside were a buzzing hive of activity, and Mr. Gardiner would probably still be at his business. But while there was something formidable about Elizabeth's uncle, facing her aunt was just as frightening a prospect.

Darcy stepped out of his carriage and looked around. A line of long trees with bare branches stood shading the road and the houses. The wind howled through the streets, making Darcy shiver a little despite the warmth of his heavy greatcoat. The sun was occluded by the thick London smog.

What if they had sent Elizabeth back to Hertfordshire, or executed some other scheme to keep her away from him? Darcy was not worried for more than a delay. Once they were convinced his intentions were truly honorable, Elizabeth would be allowed to meet him. He firmly banged the knocker against its brass plate.

The maid who opened the door was same girl who had opened the door when he came to the house with Elizabeth last night. She blushed and curtsied. "Forgive me, sir, but they ordered that neither you nor your sister are to be admitted."

"Please, I must speak with Miss Elizabeth. She is here? She is well?"

The maid looked back into the house and then said in a quiet voice, "Miss Lizzy cried a great deal, and the mistress was terribly angry at her. Miss Lizzy asked me to bring her any message from you. But I cannot. It would be my position if the mistress found out, and Miss Lizzy is a good girl, even if things are so in a tangle. She has always been a real friend to me."

Darcy smiled warmly at the servant, and the girl blushed and looked down. "Then is the master in? I must talk to him first."

"Oh! You mean…"

"I do. I want to marry Elizabeth."

The maid informed Darcy that Mr. Gardiner was in fact home, in the drawing room talking to his wife and Elizabeth. She then eagerly led him to the study so that he could meet with Mr. Gardiner.

The study was the first room off the hall to the right, very convenient if someone called on a matter of business and with an excellent view of the street.

Darcy sat down and looked about at the room. It was solidly, though not expensively, furnished. There were paintings about the walls, though Darcy could tell they had not been drawn by a master. The walls had yellow paper coverings and rows of bookcases dominated one wall. The fireplace was a simple white marble piece, with no carvings. There were a variety of foreign curiosities on the mantelpiece.

Minutes passed.

Then several more minutes.

Mr. Gardiner had long since received the message, and he'd had more than ample time to come to the study. He was either occupied by some matter of grave importance, or far more likely he'd decided to force Darcy to wait as a sign of his displeasure.

Rather than a collection of armchairs, the room had a half dozen simple wooden chairs with solidly colored velvet cushions. Some of them were blue and others were black. There were two windows. Each had two white painted pieces of wood going horizontally through them, and three going vertically. That made twelve little panes of glass for each window, and twenty-four in total.

Darcy checked his watch. The second half hour of his wait would commence in just another two minutes.

Darcy thought about counting how many books were on the shelf.

Mr. Gardiner must be planning to refuse consent to marry his niece. Or at least he was considering it. From their behavior, the couple likely knew about his first offer to Elizabeth.

He could go to Mrs. Bennet for permission. Darcy wrinkled his nose in disgust. Unless he had misread the woman's character entirely, it would be trivial to get her approval.

To occupy himself Darcy walked about the room. Mr. Gardiner's desk had a miniature portrait. Darcy picked it up. There were two girls and a young man wearing the clothes of several decades past. For a moment Darcy thought Elizabeth's sister Jane was one of the women, but he then realized it was Mrs. Bennet as a girl. The other woman was Mrs. Phillips, and the young man was Mr. Gardiner.

Darcy looked at them, wondering if there were some sign in their eyes of what direction their life would go.

The door at last opened, and Darcy startled at being caught looking at Mr. Gardiner's personal effects. He placed the miniature back down on the desk facing a different direction than it had at first. Darcy crushed the impulse to straighten it.

Mr. Gardiner closed the door and walked to the desk. There was an unpleasant snarl on the man's face. Darcy greeted him, keeping any annoyance at having been kept waiting out his words and tone, and vigorously shook the older man's hand.

Mr. Gardiner did not smile and, without saying a word, sat down behind his desk and gestured for Darcy to sit as well.

Darcy did so.

Mr. Gardiner stared at Darcy.

"Mr. Gardiner, I wish to ask for the hand of your niece, Elizabeth. I assure you my intentions are entirely honorable."

Mr. Gardiner stared at Darcy with the exact same expression. Darcy felt an urge to justify himself, and nearly began to speak, but a habit formed from years of negotiations as the master of Pemberley kept him from saying anything before he had thought.

Elizabeth's uncle was playing the old negotiating game where whoever spoke first lost. The use of silence to see what someone might say as they became uncomfortable. Darcy added, "My engagement to Lady Margaret has been dissolved. I spoke with her father an hour ago, and I am now free to pursue my inclinations."

Mr. Gardiner said nothing.

Darcy decided he had already said everything which needed to be said.

He held Mr. Gardiner's gaze with a neutral face.

This continued for a full minute.

"I assure you, her happiness is my sole goal. You have some cause for an ill opinion of me, but I will act in a manner worthy of Elizabeth's affection and your approval."

Mr. Gardiner steepled his hands and frowned heavily over them.

Darcy sighed.

This was not a negotiation with a tenant, and he was not some criminal who did not want to confess his crime by accident to a justice of the peace. They all cared for Elizabeth, and she cared for them all. It was demeaning to be treated in this manner by the tradesman, but if he were to have the life he hoped for with Elizabeth he must see her as an equal, which meant he must see her connections as equal as well.

"Mr. Gardiner, I love Elizabeth. I will not hurt her. I will always act for her sake. If she should agree to marry me, I will fulfill all of the words of the marriage vows. I will love her, cherish her, and honor her. Conflict between us does her no good. Tell me what you fear."

Mr. Gardiner leaned forward and laid his palms flat on the table. It was a gesture which pointed his elbows to the side and opened up his shoulders so that he looked larger. "I do not like you. I do not trust you. Everything I've learned of your family says that you are the worst sort of aristocrats. You are acting as a spoiled child who has never been denied anything. You have chosen to throw a tantrum to get the one toy which was not immediately handed to you."

The man settled back and steepled his hands together again. Darcy forced his irritation and offended pride away. He would speak to Elizabeth, with or without Mr. Gardiner's approval, but she valued her family greatly, and matters would be easier if he had his approval.

Darcy said with a forced mildness, "I have never been accused of throwing a tantrum to have my way. I still do not understand what you fear. I am offering Elizabeth an honorable position."

Mr. Gardiner stiffened in a way that showed Darcy had said the wrong thing. "You are a fool if you think that just because a promise is honorable that it is then decent."

What offended pride Darcy had withered away. He had wronged Lady Margaret with an honorable offer, and he had no right any longer to be annoyed when a man questioned his good judgement.

Mr. Gardiner said, "If you marry Lizzy, your fancied love will only last six months past the wedding, and then she would be tied forever to a man who cares nothing for her and who only thinks of his own pleasures."

"Were I in your position, I would have your fears. Elizabeth deserves—"

"Miss Elizabeth."

"If you think I only value her person and not her character, you are the one to hold too low an opinion of your niece."

"If you cared for her character, you never would have made such a vile offer to her."

Darcy was not sure what to say.

He loved Elizabeth. He wished to marry her. She would be happy, and he needed in his heart to shout to society that she was his. He wanted to live with her at Pemberley, as his father had lived with his mother, and she would never be completely happy as his mistress. Even if she could be, he loved her too much to not marry her.

But Darcy was still too much of his uncle's nephew to think that asking her to enter his protection was vile.

Mr. Gardiner interrupted Darcy's thinking. "I have no choice; her reputation and the reputation of all her sisters are already in tatters due to your friend Bingley. If she will accept you, I must give agreement. However, I will allow no term of engagement shorter than a full year. And I would expect settlements to be signed immediately, so that without recourse to the courts Elizabeth will receive compensation when you tire of her like you have your first fiancée."

"Tomorrow I will go to my solicitor and settle thirty thousand pounds irrevocably upon her. As to the length of the engagement, I will make no such agreement. I have sufficient understanding of my own character to know my affection for Elizabeth will not change in such a short span of time as a year."

Mr. Gardiner blinked when Darcy named the sum. "Do not be ridiculous. Thirty thousand? If you are serious you only prove what I said about your carelessness. You cannot purchase my assent to advance the marriage. An engagement of a year is my demand, if you wish to see my niece."

"Thirty thousand is my sister's fortune. I do not see settling a sum equal to that on Elizabeth as an excessive gesture of my affection. She deserves all. Unless Elizabeth wishes a long engagement, we will have the banns read Sunday next and marry after the three week's period."

"You already abandoned one woman. I would much rather that when you change your mind this time, it is before you are tied unbreakably by the church."

Darcy grimaced. "My connection with Lady Margaret was a mistake, and I knew it to be one from the very first. Elizabeth is an entirely different matter. I will not respect your wishes in this matter."

"You will not? What shall you do when I refuse permission? Will you elope, or will you tell her you plan to marry her and then make her your mistress on the road to Scotland? You think you have the right to take whatever you wish."

Darcy frowned. He thought Mrs. Gardiner had heard Elizabeth's promise to become his mistress this morning, like Lady Margaret had. However, he now suspected that the excellent woman had not informed her husband.

Darcy looked down and rubbed at his forehead. "We should not be enemies. You do not wish this marriage at all. Why?"

"You would not be faithful to her, and it would make her miserable. She will be derided by your entire society and they will all mock her, and then you will abandon her to pursue fresh women. Your every action today proves you take what you wish with no regard for society or religion."

"I assure you, I would be faithful to her."

"If you were the sort of man to be faithful, you would not be the sort of man to seek mistresses. I came to my marriage, though I was near thirty, not having known a woman."

"Really?" Darcy drew back and asked in a confused tone, "I would say we were raised very different, but — with such a sister as Mrs. Bennet?"

Mr. Gardiner chuckled. Instead of being insulted he shrugged and some of the tension left the room. "Yes. Even with Fanny as my sister. My father took far greater pains to shape my morals and habits than he did with my sisters." He raised his eyebrows. "There is a lesson there."

Darcy leaned forward his chair. He pillowed his chin on a fist. "How old were you, exactly?"

"Six months past my nine and twentieth birthday."

"That would make you more than a year older than I am now."

"I am not a curiosity for you to stare at in amazement."

"No, you are my dear Elizabeth's beloved uncle."

Mr. Gardiner leaned back into his chair and looked at Darcy with an expectant expression.

"Mr. Gardiner, while our educations were entirely different, I assure you my family is neither amoral nor careless. While I am certain a benevolent Providence watches and cares for us, I do not think the present superstitions correspond to the true nature of that Providence. I have never thought congress between a man and woman is sacred. However, I was taught to always consider a woman's happiness as of equal importance with my own. The prohibitions against seduction and loose behavior protect young women from rakes who would abuse their vulnerable situation. So long as the woman is not harmed by the connection, I see no sin in having a woman outside of wedlock."

"That does not comfort me."

"It was not disrespect when I asked Elizabeth to be my mistress. While contrary to your moral code, and to society's proclaimed code, it was not contrary to my own values. However, being unfaithful when I promised fidelity… I abhor deception. I have only once deceived a woman in a matter of importance, and it was by far the worst decision of my life."

Mr. Gardiner leaned forward. Darcy hoped his eyes were now softer. "You mean your engagement?"

"Yes. I…I asked her to marry me so it would be impossible to marry Elizabeth. It was wrong and profoundly selfish, and I have never despised myself so much. Mr. Gardiner, I have never… well…" Darcy blushed. "I found as a youth I would feel guilty if I…was unfaithful to my mistresses."

Mr. Gardiner raised his eyebrows, and Darcy felt his face go hotter.

"Hmm." Mr. Gardiner pulled at his sideburns and settled back into his chair. "You mean to suggest that since you would not play loose with your paid subordinates, you certainly will not misuse my niece when you are married to her and claim to love her."

Darcy grimaced at Mr. Gardiner's manner of describing it. He was in love with Elizabeth, and he had treated his mistresses with far more consideration than that given to simply a paid subordinate. Arguing that point would do no good. "That in essence is what I mean to say."

"Well. Well. I suppose I imagined all forms of immorality would be bundled together. If a man had one, he probably had all. But there is no good cause for that to be the case. I do believe you now. You have some decency in you, even if it has been twisted by your irreligious speculations."

Now it was Darcy's turn to say nothing while the other man thought.

"How can I know your affection for her will not disappear once you have enjoyed her person? It would make an extremely poor marriage for you, since only the strongest affection would be able to stand up against the derision you will face."

"It was never her person that drew me, not primarily. The first time I saw Elizabeth, I was drawn to the expression on her face. I stood near her in the assembly rooms at Meryton pretending to study a portrait of the King while her face went from an expression of piercing disappointment, to contentment, to anger, and then to a confidence. I have been a little in love with her since I saw her shake her fist with resolution and smile defiantly at her worries."

"That is a romantic speech. You should share it with Lizzy."

"Mr. Gardiner, her spirit has always drawn me. So long as…" Darcy could not continue for a moment. "If I can hear her laugh and listen to her conversation and bring smiles to her face, I shall be happy."