I hope it is no longer significant." "I go," she said after a silence, "to join my husband in Jerusalem." The Maccabee's lips parted and an expression of disappointment with an admixture of surprise and vexation came over his face.

But what did it matter?
Were she as free as air, he was a married man.

The humor of the situation appealed to him.

He dropped his head into the bend of his elbow and laughed.
"Welladay, this is a respite for us both, then," he said.

But realizing that an admission that he was married might hopelessly reduce their hour to a formal basis, he took refuge in a falsehood.
"My companion expects to meet a wife in Jerusalem," he continued.