It would carry them through the complex disarray of this world to the edge of the world beyond.
Some time passed before either of them spoke again.

Then Peter said quite simply: "We must go home, dear." She nodded, and together, hand in hand, they descended from the old castle which must have witnessed so many loves and griefs and partings in King Arthur's time, keeping them secret in its bosom as it would keep secret this later farewell.
They were very silent on the way back.

Just at the end, before they turned the corner where the car awaited them, Peter spoke to her again, taking both her hands in his for the last time and holding them in a firm, steady clasp.
"Don't forget, Nan, what we said just now.

We can each remember that--our troth.

Hang on to it--_hard_, when life seems a bit more uphill than usual.".