Strangely uplifted and forever at peace, she rose from her chair. The blanket slipped away from her, and her loosened hair flowed back over her shoulders, catching gleams of starlight as it fell. She stretched out her arms in yearning toward Alden, her husband, Madame--indeed, all the world, having come out of self into service; through the love of one to the love of all.
Then, through the living darkness, came the one clear call: "Mine?"
Unmistakably the answer surged back: "In all the ways of Heaven and for always, I am thine."