He hadn't thought much about the idea of their having wedding bands, to be entirely honest, despite the inherent romanticism in the gesture. It was one more aspect that he found he automatically associated with marriage between a man and a woman, and this was certainly not that, and they seemed to be constantly redefining the whole thing as suited them. They had no marriage contract, no formal blessing from a priest, but it was nontheless a marriage, and one as sanctified, in Watson's mind, as the one he had had with Mary. Now that the idea of rings had been brought up, it was hard not to feel wistful about it.

"I suppose it's best not to torment ourselves with thinking about the possibility," Watson said, with a very small sigh. "There's no helping it, after all. We are married, regardless."