"Not some other man?"
"No. Only you; you are the only one there ever has been, or ever will
be."
"Then what in the world is wrong?"
Alexandra's words came tumbling out as though she feared her courage
would evaporate before she could speak them.
"You said the stage was a hard place for girls. It is. It's all so
wrong everywhere that the idea of a man proposing marriage is--is a
surprise.... Oh, won't you understand?" She clasped her hands tensely.
"You need not marry me--unless you want to, because I--didn't expect
it."
She buried her head for very shame. Her last words were barely audible.
She longed to look at him to learn what was in his face, but did not
dare.
Meer did not leave her long in doubt.
"My dear," he said, moved to the very heart of him. "That is between
you and me--and God."