"Yes, monsieur."
"But how could you dispose of your heart, knowing that you were not your own mistress?"
"For sixteen years I had heard nothing of my family; how could I suppose that all at once it would reveal itself, or rather, that an odious maneuver should take me from my quiet retreat to my ruin?"
"Then you still think that that man lied, when he called himself your father?"
"I scarcely know what to think, and my mind becomes bewildered in contemplating this strange reality, which seems so like a dream."
"But you should not consult your mind here, Helene," said the regent; "you should consult your heart. When you were with this man, did not your heart speak to you?"
"Oh!" said Helene, "while he was there I was convinced, for I have never felt emotion such as I felt then."
"Yes," replied the regent, bitterly; "but when he was gone, this emotion disappeared, driven away by stronger influence. It is very simple, this man was only your father; Gaston was your lover."
"Monsieur," said Helene, drawing back, "you speak strangely."
"Pardon me," replied the regent, in a sweet voice; "I see that I allowed myself to be carried away by my interest. But what surprises me more than all, mademoiselle," continued he, "is that, being beloved as you are by Gaston, you could not induce him to abandon his projects."