“I thought it better to come myself.”

“At last! It’s been so long.”

“Never mind. It’s now that counts. I’ve loved you through it all, Rebecca.”

“And I you.”

“Never doubt again.”

“Never … never … never,” I said.

There was so much to be told … so much to plan for.

Leah, Tom and Belinda were to leave soon after the wedding and there came that moment when we had to say goodbye.

Belinda was like a wild-eyed sprite. She could not stand still.

“We’ll come back to see you,” she said. “And you can come out to see us. My father says so …”

She jumped up and put her arms round my neck.

“I do love you, Rebecca,” she said a little ruefully, as though apologizing for her enthusiasm. “I will come back and see you.” She hugged me more tightly. “And now you can marry that boring old Pedrek.”

“Thank you. I shall,” I told her.