"A woman wouldn't know that, not at first."
"No. I didn't, at first."
"Who is this other man?"
"A prince."
"So you would be a princess."
"No, I should not be a princess." Her voice had a curious sound.
"What has your father to do with it?"
"Everything. The prince can advance him in certain ways. My father plays for high stakes."
"Are you sure you don't want to be a princess?" The voice seemed to coax her. "Even if you do want it very much," it seemed to say, "why not relinquish it and stay here under the tree?"
"No," she said, "I don't want to be a princess, even if I could be. And I don't want anything my father can offer me, or buy for me, or steal for me."