Why Don't I Believe the Last Line?

     Why end with "and they lived happily ever after"? Such an ending is of fairytales, and I do not think anyone believed that they did in fact live happily ever after. There is a world war going on, and there are shortages and blackouts in England. On top of that Raunce's scheming and mild incompetence is bound to stir up trouble wherever he and Edith go. I'm trying to decide if Green is being sarcastic or not. However, if we jump back a line we are treated to the wonderfully foreboding comparison of the way Raunce whispers Edith's name and the way Eldon murmured "Ellen" as he died. In light of this, I wonder if Raunce and Edith meet a German Bomb in England.