noon
Then , should you need me , or could you send for me , I could go better as your wife than any other way ; then , when I gave my heart to you I gave it entirely , and should we never meet , I would , while I lived , want to keep in thought that you were my husband ; that I was your wife ; that all glory had come to me . '' By this time the tears were flowing fast down her cheeks , and with tears in his own eyes , Sedgwick said : `` I wanted to ask you , dearest , to become my wife before I went away , but thought it a shame to so involve you , with a future so clouded as mine is to be for the coming months . '' `` You forget , '' she replied , `` that it is my right in your absence to think of you as my husband . '' So it was settled that on the next day , just before noon , they should be married ; that they should separate at the church , she to return with her mother , Sedgwick to start with Jordan on their long journey . Then Grace called her mother . The matter was explained to her , and she readily consented to the marriage , saying to Sedgwick : `` You know I asked you , in case Grace returned your affection , that the matter might for the present be held a secret . My reason was that I felt that something sinister , which I could not understand , was at work .