"And," she said, "men take advantage of this iniquitous law of nature, adding to it a corresponding social injustice which leaves us no choice except between 'honour' and liberty. Fortunately life is mightier than words, and women who are not by nature slaves will always have the resource that masculine vanity has so foolishly made attractive by making of it forbidden fruit." "You assert, then," I suggested with a certain timidity, "that all women worthy of the name either do or should deceive their husbands?" "Oh, my assertion is merely that most women if deceived by their husbands have the right to give back what they get. As for those who are unfaithful to a faithful husband, I see no reason for your refusing them the initiative you grant to the man who goes out on pleasure bent while his chaste wife sits at home spinning her wool, and wiping her children's noses." "That is practically what I said; that any woman with self-respect----" "--has the same rights as the man without self-respect----" "--and should use them----?" "--and may use them to suit herself without the least shadow of remorse." "Complete liberty, then, for each to be unfaithful to the other." "Proclaim this maxim or not, the world has not waited for you to formulate it before putting it into practice." "You think, then, that in reality most women are unfaithful to their husbands?" "I think that in reality most men are unfaithful to their wives--and their mistresses, too, as soon as the wife or mistress expects anything from duty, even though unwritten duty, instead of the free attraction of sentiment or of the flesh. I believe that most women who are unfaithful to their husbands are unfaithful to their lovers under the same circumstances, that is to say as soon as the lover imposes himself by the rights of--morally--a husband, if the combination of words is admissible. Worse than that! As fast as odious habit changes lover into husband, and mistress into wife, the actual husband, who was the lover in the first days of marriage, and the actual wife, who was the legitimatized mistress upon leaving the church door, regain the ascendency." "Too late." "Not always. Stop and think. Women more or less deceive their lovers with their husbands. That is classic in happy homes." "So one hears. But how can one be sure?" "How many cases I might quote to bear me out! Shall I tell you a case I have recently known?" "Pray do." "Very well. Last month in an Italian city----" "Florence, naturally, I notice that you frequently go there."