'Oh, I always manage to find something to do,' she said gaily.

'By that you mean you have nothing at all to do,' Henri said. He looked at Paula severely. 'I've been doing a lot of thinking about you during the last month. I think it's a crime for you to spend your days vegetating inside these four walls.'

'You call this vegetating!' Paula said. She smiled gently, the way she used to long ago, and there was all the wisdom of the world in that smile. 'When you love someone, you're not vegetating.'

'But loving isn't a vocation.'

She interrupted him. 'You're wrong. For me, it is a vocation.'