"I have something to give too, have I?"
"No, that would be no use. I should make nothing out of you. And the rest is nonsense. No, I wouldn't kiss you, if you did ask."
"Perhaps Wetter will ask you now. I have lent your husband money, and he will pay Wetter off."
"Ah, perhaps he will then; he is curious, Wetter. But I shan't kiss him. I am very well as I am."
"Happy?"
"Yes; at least I should be, if it were not for Struboff. He annoys me very much. You know, it's like an ugly picture in the room, or a dog one hates. He doesn't say or do much, but he's there always. It frets me."
"Madame, my sympathy is extreme."
"Oh, your sympathy! You're laughing at me. I don't care. You're going to be married yourself."
"What you imply is not very reassuring."
"It's all a question of what one expects," she said with a shrug.