The crown of womanhood is to bear children to the man she loves--to take her place in his home, as wife and mother.

The man who cannot offer this, yet stands in the way of the man who can, is a poor and an unworthy lover." The Bishop paused, unclasped his hands, withdrew his steadfast regard from the fire, and sat back in his chair.

The stone in his ring gleamed blue, the colour of forget-me-nots beside a meadow brook.
Presently he looked at the silent Knight.

There was a kindly smile, in his eyes, rather than upon his lips.
"It may be, my dear Hugh, that this heart discipline of mine--of which, by the way, I have never before spoken--has made me quick to understand the sufferings of other men.

Also it may explain the great desire I always experience to see a truly noble woman come to the full completion of her womanhood.
"I returned to England not long after your betrothed had entered the cloistered life in the Whytstone Nunnery.