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"Well, that's fine to hear!" said Posco, with a laugh. A felt an urge to take Lily's face in his hands and kiss her hair, but instead he contented himself to ponder with warmth her fiercely-spoken encouragement. Part of him was certain that she would come back to him, and it made him glad, but there was an odd gnawing in his heart, and a strange little voice in his ear, saying that perhaps she would fall in love with another hobbit, and perhaps she would return: the bride of Tommy Banks. He shook himself from this thought, looked into her eyes, and convinced himself that she would remain true to him.
Oh, how the time passed, and how he wished it wouldn't! Each passing moment brought her departure closer. What would he do when she was gone? He had stayed at the Inn only for her, and she was leaving. Yes, true, why should he stay longer? An idea sprang to him, and with a light eye he turned to her, and said: "Lily, I've changed my mind." Her face looked up to his, and she opened her mouth to question what he meant, but he went on before he could speak. "Lily, with your permission, I won't escort you to the end of the Inn grounds. With your permission, I will ride with you as far as across the Brandywine, into Buckland. But only with your consent."
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