Whatever was to come, this nearness to
her would be his to remember and possess. It had been his supreme
hour. Whether she had recognized him in that moment on the road,
whether she ever knew what had happened made, he thought, no
difference. But if she was to open her eyes as they reached the
border of the park, and if she was to know that it was like this
that the genie had come out of the jar--the mere notion made him
giddy, and he saw that Heaven may have little inner Heaven-courts
which one is never too happy to penetrate.
But Olivia did not stir or unclose her eyes. The great strain of the
evening, the terror and shock of its ending, the very relief with
which she had, at all events, realized herself in the hands of
friends were more than even an island princess could pass through in
serenity. And when at last from the demesne of enchantment the car
emerged in the court of the palace, Olivia knew nothing of it and,
as nearly as he could recall afterward, neither did St. George. He
understood that the courtyard was filled with murmurs, and that as
Olivia was lifted from the car the voice of Mrs.
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