"Ah! so this is the way you treat me!" she cried, in a quivering voice. "What do you take me for, monsieur, in heaven's name? I receive you in my house, I look upon you as a friend; and you treat me like one of the women with whom a man seeks to gratify a caprice! Do you suppose that I asked you to my house to make you my lover? that I, the friend of Armantine, whom you love to distraction, asked you to sup with me in order to steal from her the heart of a man who is paying court to her? Ah! you know me very little, monsieur. I do not love you, I shall never love you! It was because I knew that you were in love with Armantine that I invited you this evening and then offered you a brotherly affection. You understand me now. Adieu, monsieur! It is not worth while for you to come to my house again." She took a lamp and vanished before I had recovered from the shock her words had caused me, or had found anything to say in reply. But in a few moments my excitement subsided, and I had no other sentiment than irritation at having allowed myself to be so roughly handled by the lady with whom I had supped. I said to myself that when one is dealing with a _gaillarde_ of Frédérique's stamp, it does not pay to do things by halves. If, instead of kissing her so gently, I had been more audacious, would she have shrieked louder? I could not say, but, at all events, she would have had some excuse for shrieking. Oh! these women! I utterly failed to understand that one. The idea of forbidding me her house because I had kissed her! Could she not have scolded me gently, instead of flying into a rage? I decided that I should be a great fool to waste another thought on Madame Dauberny. But as one should never forget to be polite or to keep one's promises, I went to the Baron von Brunzbrack, whom none of these episodes had aroused from his heavy sleep, and shook him violently. "Wake up, monsieur le baron, it's time for us to go! Madame Dauberny has gone to her room." He raised his head at last, rubbed his eyes, and exclaimed: "Vat! is id bossible? Haf I pin ashleep? _Sapremann!_ Nein, nein! I vas not ashleep; you tought--you haf been mishtook." "As you please; but let us go." "Wo ist te bretty hostess--Montame Frédérique?" "She has gone to her room, I tell you, requesting us to go home." "Ach Gott! is id tat she too tought tat I haf pin ashleep? I am fery annoyed--I haf not shlept; I haf reflected; I haf pin shtill in loafe mit te lady; and you, mein gut frent, you must not loafe her ein leedle pit; you haf bromised." "No, monsieur le baron, I am not at all in love with Madame Dauberny. Make love to her, if you will; I shall not be your rival." "Gif me your hand, mein frent." "But it's very late; let us go." "I vould vish to say gut night to te lady; to say to her tat I haf not shleep." "You can come another time and tell her that. She has gone to her room, and to bed probably; she would not see you. Come!"