"Ah, you don't want to speak to me any more," said Sonia, in a heartrending tone, wringing her hands.
"Guerchard is suspicious of everything. It is dangerous for us to be talking here. I assure you that it's dangerous," said the Duke.
"What an opinion must you have of me! It's dreadful—cruel!" wailed Sonia.
"For goodness' sake don't speak so loud," said the Duke, with even greater uneasiness. "You must think of Guerchard."
"What do I care?" cried Sonia. "I've lost the liking of the only creature whose liking I wanted. What does anything else matter? What does it matter?"
"We'll talk somewhere else presently. That'll be far safer," said the Duke.
"No, no, we must talk now!" cried Sonia. "You must know. . . . I must tell . . . Oh, dear! . . . Oh, dear! . . . I don't know how to tell you. . . . And then it is so unfair. . . . she . . . Germaine . . . she has everything," she panted. "Yesterday, before me, you gave her that pendant, . . . she smiled . . . she was proud of it. . . . I saw her pleasure. . . . Then I took it—I took it—I took it! And if I could, I'd take her fortune, too. . . . I hate her! Oh, how I hate her!"
