“She will come?”
“You deceive yourself; she will not come.”
“Is that what you were sent to tell me?”
“It is what I have been preparing you for.”
“She will see me no more?”
“Never; and it is I who have counseled it.”
“Madame, do not plunge the knife into my heart!” cried he, in a doleful voice.
“It would be much more cruel, monseigneur, to let two foolish people destroy themselves for want of a little good advice.”
“Countess, I would rather die.”
“As regards yourself, that is easy; but, subject, you dare not dethrone your queen; man, you will not destroy a woman.”