A Lovers' Tale by Maurice Hewlett

The wedding was to be in early spring; as soon as the weather was open, because Cormac would not wait any longer, and there were no signs of Toothgnasher's ship. Stangerd did not at all understand why he was in such a hurry, and he could not tell her, though he knew very well why it was.

He felt that if he was not married very soon he would not be married at all. It was not that he did not love Stangerd, and love her very much, but that he loved her in another way -- a way which irritated and confused him and hampered the free passage of his mind. He could not enjoy the sight of her beauty, or be happy in seeing her do things beautifully, as formerly he had. He loved her now in a greedy and grudging way, which seemed to sap the roots of happiness. He did not like to see her look at another man or even give her mind to anything which was not to do with him. He said to himself, "I think of nothing but her -- and why should she be otherwise? Must all the giving be on my side? " It was not so at all, if he had thought, or been able to think, of it. She loved him with the whole of her being; and what more could she have done? But there it was. His happiness was destroyed by this love; his song forsook him. His mind was preoccupied: he had no hold on it. He could not think, or see good things, or take pleasure in anything. Stangerd filled him up. There were times when he cursed the day on which he saw her; times when he hated her.