“I raised my eyes to his, and for once, I didn’t try to dispel the tension between us. My heart beat strangely. I felt like I was standing on the edge of the river that ran through the Dale, the water surging past my feet. Ought I to cross it? Ought I to cross to his side? If I didn’t yet love him, might I allow myself to try? Might I step at least onto the first stepping stone, and see what happened then?”
