Tom Branning’s renewed proposal to Sunday Small converts an earlier, unresolved question into a shared decision: he asks again, and she accepts. Staged beside her bed and completed in a kiss, the exchange makes their commitment explicit through both words and action.

Background

Tom recalls that he had asked Sunday to marry him before, then clarifies that he had meant the proposal. His hesitation—he clears his throat and speaks awkwardly—gives the earlier question new weight: he is not treating it as a passing remark but affirming its seriousness. Sunday does not answer with an immediate yes. Instead, she asks him to make the proposal again, placing the next move in his hands.

The Proposal

Tom blinks in surprise, drops to one knee beside the bed, and addresses her by her full name. He tells Sunday, “I love you more than life itself” and asks her to do him “the very great honour of becoming my wife.” The formal gesture and language contrast with the awkwardness of his opening; his second attempt is deliberate and unmistakable. Sunday answers, “I’d love to,” accepting him without qualification.

Acceptance and Significance

The proposal changes the status of their relationship through a simple sequence: Tom renews his promise, Sunday consents, and they kiss. The narration narrows to the intimacy of that kiss, presenting the two of them as momentarily alone in the world. The scene’s emotional resolution rests not on a grand public announcement but on mutual speech and response. Two days later, Sunday is well enough to come downstairs and sit in the drawing room, where she teases Mrs Spooner that she could get used to being fussed over; the proposal thus falls within a period of recovery and care.