Waiting alone in the great, oak-panelled library, with the seductive, unknowable cries of the frolicking children wafting in from outside, Francisco — she who had always seemed so cold! — thought once more of Long Reginald, the mysterious stranger with the large dog. He was now, according to her horoscope, on a collision course with the High Council itself.
   It was then that came the sound she had been longing to hear, and she leapt to her feet with hope — and alarm — in her eyes. He was here! “I’ve been mad, simply mad, without you to douse my fires, you who make my life complete!” he mumbled in that unforgettable hypnotic drawl.
   Abruptly, the music in her heart rose to a new crescendo of happiness, and as the horror of these last months vanished in a blaze of joy, she started to think about what they would call their children.