And how did I behave? I was very strong on the family, I remember. I already tried to be very severe and accused him in grave tones, ‘of bringing distress and dissension into an honourable household.’ Heavens! how I remember his amazement, his boyish burst of laughter: ‘So you think I want to marry her? You think I aspire to that honour?’ I was astounded as I measured with a glance the abyss between Anne’s infatuation and the young man’s indifference. He defended himself vigorously: why on earth should he not yield to the charm of a delightful child? He was not aware that flirtations were forbidden, and just because there could not be the slightest question of marriage between them, this one had seemed to him quite innocuous. Of course, he had pretended to share Anne’s intentions.... And when I tried to wave all this haughtily aside, he vehemently burst out that Anne herself could bear him witness that he had been careful not to go too far; that in any case he was quite sure that Mademoiselle de la Trave owed him the only hours of true passion that she was likely to know in her dreary existence: ‘You tell me she is unhappy, Madame; but do you think that she has anything better to look forward to than this same unhappiness? I know you by reputation: I know you aren’t like the people round here, and I can talk to you frankly. Before she sets out on her dreadful voyage in one of those old houses of Saint Clair I have provided Anne with a stock of sensations and dreams,--enough to save her, perhaps, from despair and, in any case, from becoming brutalised.’ I forget if I was irritated by this shocking conceit and affectation, or even if I noticed it. As a matter of fact he spoke so quickly that at first I did not follow what he said; but my mind soon got used to his flow of speech: ‘Fancy thinking I could possibly want such a marriage; settle down in this sandy desert, or burden myself with a girl of her age in Paris? I shall always have the most delightful recollections of Anne; and at the moment, when you surprised me, I was indeed thinking of her.... But how can one tie oneself down, Madame? Each minute should bring its own joy,--and a different one.’