Yes?
SOLNESS.
Aline and I lived there in the first years of our married life.
There was an old house up there that had belonged to her mother;
and we inherited it, and the whole of the great garden with it.
HILDA.
Was there a tower on that house, too?
SOLNESS.
No, nothing of the kind. From the outside it looked like a great,
dark, ugly wooden box; but all the same, it was snug and comfortable
enough inside.
HILDA.
Then did you pull down the ramshackle old place?
SOLNESS.
No, it was burnt down.
HILDA.
The whole of it?
SOLNESS.
Yes.
HILDA.
Was that a great misfortune for you?
SOLNESS.
That depends on how you look at it. As a builder, the fire was the
making of me---
HILDA.
Well, but---
SOLNESS.
It was just after the birth of the two little boys---
HILDA.
The poor little twins, yes.
SOLNESS.
They came healthy and bonny into the world. And they were growing
too--you could see the difference day to day.
HILDA.
Little children do grow quickly at first.
SOLNESS.
It was the prettiest sight in the world to see Aline lying with the
two of them in her arms.
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